Ghosts That We Knew
by Its Physics Magic
Summary: Thea Queen wasn't going to let her brother leave her behind on what was meant to be the trip of a lifetime but she'll soon come to regret her decision. AU in which Thea Queen finds herself on the Queen's Gambit on the fateful night that it sank.
1. The Plan

**|Ghosts That We Knew|**

 **Fate**

 **A/N -** Not 100% sure how this will turn out, it's a spur of the moment inspiration that I got and am excited for it but not sure how people will receive this. This won't be a copy of canon where I just insert Thea, I will edit and change things to fit the story but I will keep the tone the same. Short opening chapter that essentially sets up the scene.

 **Summary** \- In which Thea Queen joins Oliver on the boat and both of their lives are changed forever.

* * *

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light

'Cause oh that gave me such a fright

But I will hold as long as you like

Just promise me we'll be alright

 **. . .**

 **Five Years Ago, prior to Lian Yu**

Thea Queen is particularly adept at lock-picking, at the tender age of twelve she considers herself an expert at it. All courtesy of her big brother Ollie, the families resident tearaway playboy. She doesn't announce her presence to her brother before entering and instead runs into his room and throws herself into his arms, tears threatening to spill and fall down her cheeks. "You can't leave me here!" Her hands form small fists and she goes from burrowing into his embrace to hitting him.

Her emotions are tearing away at her and she can't help but loose control, Ollie was the person who came to her parent-teacher evenings and helped her do her hair, listened to her when she rambled about whatever boy she had a crush on or whomever had upset her at school. She usually just ranted about her teachers on those occasions until he calmed her down with movies and popcorn.

She didn't want him to go.

She understood that he would only be gone for a few days, a month at the worst. But that felt like an eternity to her. Especially since she had wanted to join him but her Dad wouldn't listen and she didn't feel like getting Ollie banned from going from spilling the fact that he was going with their Father, too. He was always the one who was there - Mom and Dad were always busy with work. And yes, she understood that it was because of that work that she was so wealthy. As Raisa always reminded her she was privileged, but Thea would happily trade one of their private jets for some more time with her parents.

"Speedy!" Her brother soothed, restraining her slightly, "Hey! Hey! Calm down..." He promises to make whoever hurt her regret it, promises to give her the entire world if it gets her to stop crying. He sighs and looks at her with an uncertain expression, he was usually on the receiving end of his sisters mood swings but this was one of the few times where he appeared to be the cause of it. "If I sneak you on the boat with me...will that calm you down?" Oliver offers, a last ditch attempt to please his sister.

It works.

"You'll let me come with?" Thea checks as a small smile starts to form, "I thought Dad said I couldn't."

Oliver already seems to be regretting his master plan, muttering something that sounded suspiciouly like, "Dad's going to kill me...and Sara's going to castrate me." She wonders if she'll get to spend some time with Sara on the Yatch, she likes Sara, she's funny and loud and makes Thea laugh. Thea likes Laurel too, Laurel helped teach her how to do her hair and defend herself when some older kids decided to try to beat her up.

But she isn't going to spill the beans on that love triangle if it gets Ollie in trouble.

Ollie comes first.

They spent the next hour plotting how to get Thea onto the Queen's Gambit without raising suspicion. Deciding that it would be best not to reveal Thea's presence until they would be too far from Starling City to turn around.

"He can't stop you if we're already sailing when he finds out." Her brother tells her with a small smirk and Thea is certain that she has the best big brother in the world. Beaming from ear to ear Thea hurried to her room, ignoring Raisa's suspicious look and began to pack a bag for the trip.

Her friends were going to be so jealous.

* * *

Thea Queen stood hesitantly at the Docks where her Father's Yatch was due to set sail in about an hour. She had told Raisa that Ollie was going to drop her off at school before he went to the docks to help their Father get ready to set sail.

"Mom's there...you stay in the car with Sara speedy...I'll come grab you when we're all clear." She shot him a mock salute and watched as he walked off, Mom was going to kill him.

Oliver headed over to where his parents were currently 'debating' about his Father's Yatch trip, shooting his Dad his most charming smile he laid down his rucksack and turned to his Mom with an innocent expression.

"Hey!" He called out with a cheerful voice, determined to get both himself and Thea onto the boat. When his Mom tried to protest he quickly deflected and turned to his Father, "Let me keep Dad company."

"Oliver you're in school!" Mom tried to reason.

He winced slightly, "Not really." Not giving her a chance to comment on it he quietly turned to their Father, "I forgot to tell you that." Giving them both a 'what can you do expression.'

Thea chuckled from where she was sat inside of the car, he had gotten kicked out of College about a week ago. He had been crashing at Sara's and Laurel's respectively when Mom had thought he was at college.

It was his fourth College, her brother was nothing if not consistent.

"I could use an extra hand on the ship." Their Father offered, ever the peacekeeper. Thea allowed herself to squeal with ecximent and punch the air with victory, if their Dad was agreeing to letting Ollie on the boat then it was practically a done deal. Mom could never beat with the two of them when they decided to team up.

"Robert!" Their Mom reprimanded, albeit weakly.

"Moria...let the kid take the boat out with his old man." He offered with his trademark smile. Silently Thea added, 'Let the kid smuggle his sister onto the boat as well.'

Sighing she shook her head and admitted defeat, "Alright! But you'll promise me that you behave yourself?"

Ollie shot her the innocent expression that he usually saved for the nights where he was brought home in the back of a cop car, "Oh yeah...I promise." Apart from the whole sneaking her and his girlfriend's little sister onto the boat, yup that was definitely him behaving himself.

Thea watched as the two embraced and a small part of her felt a pang of jealously, she wasn't going to get to say goodbye to Mom. Then her eyes went wide as she saw Laurel approach, she shared a panicked look with Sara and the pair decided to go for a drive around the block.

Better than getting caught and having to explain what exactly the pair of them were doing at the Docks.

Fifteen minutes later and Thea was being smuggled onto the Yatch by Ollie and Sara. She watched through a porthole as their Mom stood on the docks and waved off her Father and Brother. She gripped her locket and smiled wistfully, knowing that her Mother was going to panic later on that day when her school phoned to report that she didn't appear today but by then it would be too late and she would be well on her way to China.

"Bye Mom.." Thea whispered as her Mom became a smudge on the horizon, "I love you."


	2. The Return Of The Queens

**|Ghosts That We Knew|**

 **The Return Of Those Lost**

 **A/N -** Not at that point of the Island but I am stupidly excited to show Thea & Anatoly's interactions, more people voted for Option One over option Three so I'll be going with that but tweaking it slightly when it comes to the order that things happened in the present. Will divide this fic so that my version of Season 1 is one and then season 2, season 3 and then things end up AU without being too AU.

The proper pilot 'episode' chapter is taking a while to write, should be finished all of the details by tomorrow so sorry that we still aren't fully into the action yet. Ahhhhh.

Essentially rewriting Season 4 as I didn't enjoy it.

* * *

 **. . .**

 **Present Day, Lian Yu**

Thea Queen ran through the harsh jungle of Lian Yu alongside her brother, Oliver Queen, they were running towards the shore. Hopefully it wasn't too late, they could both only pray that they weren't too late. If they were then they could only hope that Anatoli would come and save them, again.

"Keep up Speedy," Her brother teased from beside her as he raced ahead of her, his light tone a contrast to the one he had had when he killed Kovar. She grimaced and hurried to catch up with him. Branches tore at and scratched at her calves as she ran through the overgrowth - ignoring the way it sent waves of pain through her. Thea had long since learnt how to ignore and deal with pain, a mixture of compartmentalization and sheer willpower.

Pain was one of the many things she had learnt to deal with over the past five years, a couple of nicks and cuts were nothing compared to the hell they'd been through.

She watched as Ollie stopped at the ledge they had came to, they could now see the shore from where they were - the very same shore they had found themselves washed up on all those years ago. A small wooden fishing boat was hovering close to the island, they could only pray that their little 'light show,' as Anatoli had so eloquently put it would be enough to get their attention.

Oliver picked up an arrow and loaded it into his bow, scraping the arrowhead along the stone. It took only seconds before the arrowhead caught alight, Arrow pulled back the bow and fired it into a pile of wood, debris and dry bush. The perfect bonfire.

"Always a flair for the dramatics Ollie," She retorted with a small teasing smile, "Ready to go home?"

He nodded and pulled up his hood, she followed suit as they both readied themselves for what was about to happen. They could only watch with baited breath as they waited for the boat to turn towards the island, for it to acknowledge the bonfire that they had created. If they ignored it then they would have to come up with another plan and Anatoli would have spent all that money bribing various boats to fish near Lian Yu for nothing.

She self consciously tugged at her hair, where she was sure a literal birds nest was forming, "Reckon it'll be believable enough Ollie?"

"Why would they question it? We've been dead for years...everyone will be far too overjoyed at having us back to question anything." He replied smoothly, a part of Thea winced, knowing that their Mom was included in that statement. They would spend the next couple of years doing nothing but lie to her and that grated on Thea. She wasn't like Ollie, she couldn't just turn off her conscience by shoving on a hood.

Frankly she didn't quite understand how he even managed to do that. Anatoli was right, wearing a hood didn't make him a different person, she hoped that her Brother would realise that before it tore him apart.

He was on a mission to save their city and right their Father's wrongs, she was too but she was also on a different mission.

One to save her brother, from himself.

Anatoli was right, nothing good was going to come from splitting himself in two and eventually his deal with the Hood was going to fall apart.

 **. . .**

 **Somewhere in the North China sea, five years ago;**

 _"Thea!" A voice called out from somewhere above her, "Speedy!"_

 _Warily she looked up and could just make out the blurred image of a raft floating on the water, her Father and Brother were there alongside someone else. Gus, her mind supplied. "Dad! Ollie!"_

 _Somehow she managed to push herself against the current and get towards the life raft, practically sagging with relief as her Father and Brother pulled her into the raft with them. Immediately her Father pulled her closer and placed an arm around her, trying to warm her up whilst her Brother closed the flap on the raft to shelter them from the cold._

 _It took her longer than it should have to count the number of people on the boat and she brokenly realised that Sara Lance wasn't one of them. She shot a look at her Brother who had his chin resting on his knees and his arms pulled around himself in attempt to bring himself comfort._

 _"She might still be out there." Oliver murmured, Thea's head snapped to his and she winced in sympathy as memories of the blonde haired girl flashed through her mind. She thought back to Laurel, Laurel's Mother and Detective Lance, they were going to be broken._

 _Robert reached over and patted his son on the arm, "I'm sorry son, but she's gone."_

 **. . .**

Thea hated boats, which wasn't surprising given her history with them; The Gambit, The Freighter and whatever boat Amanda had used to pull them from the North China Sea. "It's strange isn't it.." Oliver murmured, "Seeing the island like that...seeing it fade."

"We weren't exactly able to see it last time," She replied as she thought back to their time on the Amazo, "At least this time we know where we're going...we're going home."

Oliver squeezed her shoulder before getting up and heading over towards the Fishermen, she watched as the fishermen talked to eachother, Oliver was speaking to them in 'fluent' Mandarin and she could practically hear Shado's laughter inside of her head.

He was certianly better than most but he wasn't fluent and similarly to his Russian his American accent shone through.

The two men seemed nice enough, giving them both blankets and making sure they both had plenty to drink. She doubted this was how they had expected their day to go.

"Qǐng wǒ kěyǐ jièyòng diànhuà, ràng wǒ hé wǒ de mèimei kěyǐ gěi wǒmen de mǔqīn dǎ diànhuà? [Please could I borrow a phone, so me and my Sister can phone our Mother?]"

Oliver muttered his thanks as they handed him the sattilite phone before sitting down next to her. His blanket was draped across his shoulders and pulled in at his chest "You ready for this Speedy?" And truthfully she didn't know, was she ready to go home? See her Mom and Tommy and get to be with them again. Her emotions were at war inside of her, anxiety, excitment, trepidation all rolled into one.

Looking at her Brother she knew the same war was going on inside of him, he had refused to return home once because of the fear he had of the darkness inside of him and so she was glad he was giving himself a chance to return home.

Even if it was more so for her and their Father than for his own sake.

His hands were shaking, she noticed, as he dialled the number into the phone. Idly she wondered if the Queen family would reimburse the call, her mind trying to distract itself from what was about to happen.

What if she didn't believe them? Didn't want them? Couldn't accept who they had become? The thoughts swirled inside of her head as the anxiety grew, for all of her bravado and brave words she was still the girl who missed her Mother - even if she tried to deny or hide it.

Oliver placed the phone inbetween them both so that she could hear, please pick up was the mantra that she repeated in her head.

"Hello?" Thea gasped as she heard their Mom's voice ring out through the speaker, she gripped her brother's free hand and looked at him in desperation - she didn't know what to say or do...that was their Mother...the woman they hadn't seen in five years. "Hello?" She asked again, her tone boardering on annoyance, "Who is this?"

"Mom...it's Oliver.." He began and Thea noted how steady his voice was, a complete contrast to the fact he looked like he was on the verge of tears.

They could both hear a barely suppresed sob before the woman spoke again, "My son has been dead for five years, he died with his Father and sister...please don't call this number again-"

"Mom!" Thea cried out, her voice trembling "It's me...it's Thea...it's us I promise...please don't hang up!"

"Mom...I swear...we're both alive...please just listen to my voice..our voices...it's us." Her brother pleaded as Thea closed her eyes, silently begging whatever or whoever might be out there to stop her hanging up. "We did not die on the Gambit...I'm alive...and we're okay and we're coming home...we're coming back."

"T-Thea...Oliver.." Their Mom breathed out, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears, "Is that really you?"

"It's us...please don't hang up!" Thea begged, she couldn't let their Mom go without talking to her, they had had to wait five years to just hear her voice. She didn't want her to go now.

"No." Their Mother murmured and for a second Thea was terrified that that single word meant their Mother hated them, didn't believe them and was about to hang up but before she could voice another desperate protest. "I won't! Oh...my beautiful boy..my baby girl...I-Is your father alive? Did he make it too?" Their Mother questioned hopefully and Thea whimpered slightly, she had killed people and watched as people had been tortured and died but she couldn't bring herself to crush her Mother's hope like that.

Luckily for her, Oliver did it for her.

"N-No...he didn't make it...he died that night...I'm sorry." Oliver told her, pain flashing across his features.

Their Mother let a choked gasp escape her lips as the fate of her Husband was confirmed, she paused and sniffled before speaking again "Ohh...Oliver...Thea...sweetheart, I can't imagine what the pair of you have been through...where are you?"

"A chinese fishing boat...off of the coast of Hong-Kong." Oliver explained, wrapping an arm around Thea and pulling her in closer, "I'm not sure other than that...but I'm coming home." Oliver said inbetween sobs.

"Mom...I love you." Thea cried out as she burrowed closer to Oliver, "I love you and I swear that we'll come home...we're coming home...I promise."

A sob echoed through the phone, "I love you! I love you both..so...so much...I'll arrange for a plane to bring you back...god...I can't wait to see you both...I love you."

"We love you too," Thea chimed in.

Oliver shook his head and schooled his features before speaking again, "Mom...I have to go...I'll phone you once we're at the Embassy...I swear...I swear that we will come home and you'll hear from us soon...okay?"

"Okay...okay.." Mom murmured, "See you soon...I love you."

As the line went dead Thea burst into choked sobs, her and Oliver holding eachother as finally let the floodgates open and everything they had felt over the past five years came rushing out at once.

"We're actually going home Ollie..." Thea whispered, "We're going home."

* * *

 **A/N -** The votes are in and Option One has come out on top, spent a good hour or so just plotting how it was all going to work out and such. And I'm pretty happy with and proud of the result. Warning that S4 is pretty AU but we don't need to worry about that now! Let's just get through Season 1, things will be quite different from the canon show in some ways aside from the expected "Thea was there too!" changes which I hope work out in the long run.

When it comes to pairings I don't really know, Thea will probably end up with Roy and as she's the focus of this fic then I'm not sure about Ollie. I feel like I need to have some parts from his point of view but I worry they won't fit with the rest, some flashbacks will be from both of their points of view but those are all from during the Island and the actual pilot.

The next chapter looks as if it's going to be **very** long so I hope you all enjoy that.

 _SORRY FOR NOT GETTING INTO THE ACTION SOONER BUT I HAVE ISSUES WITH PACE AND AM SCARED TO RUSH THINGS._


	3. The Pilot

**|Ghosts That We Knew|**

 **A/N -** Revised version of the first chapter? In all honesty this may be too long? Do people prefer long chapters or broken up chapters. Basically my attempt to make it feel less like a canon carbon copy where it's just a transcript written out.

Hopefully it comes across that way.

Wooo there's more angst.

Also the people who's POV's we'll see throughout the fics will be; Thea (mainly), Oliver (nearly mainly), Tommy (quite a lot later on) and Laurel. Simply because I love the sibling relationships between Oliver and Thea and Tommy and I like Thea and Laurel's friendship and Oliver and Laurel's friendship.

* * *

 **. . .**

 **'Breaking News' The Queen Siblings Are Alive! The missing billionaires and heirs to the Queen legacy were recently found on an island on the North China Sea where they have reportedly been missing for the past five years! Happened upon by a Chinese fishing boat the pair are being rushed back to Starling City. The Queen Family has asked for privacy during this time.v**

Thea Queen stared out at the twinkling landscape of Starling City, thinking about all she has been through during the past five years. All Oliver had been through. After five years of Hell they were finally home, finally free to begin again and to carry out their Father's legacy.

She could vaguely hear the Doctor talking to her Mother, years of relying on her senses has heightened them "Fifteen percent of her body is covered in scars...twelve fractures that never quite healed properly and several severe second-degree burns." She tuned him out, idly wondering about how she and Ollie were going to explain the tattoos. They couldn't exactly say that they had gotten them whilst on the Island had and that it had had some kind of tattoo parlor, although maybe they could.. People's reactions would certainly be interesting to see.

"T-Thea..." A wavering voice called out from behind her, breaking her train of thought. She turned to see her Mother standing behind her in the doorway. She looked completely different to the woman Thea remembered, the woman Thea had dreamed about seeing again. But Thea recognizes her Mom's eyes and the love in them. She could remember how those same eyes could become dark pools of fury whenever someone did something to evoke her wrath. Usually Ollie.

Though she'd never told Oliver her memory of home, of Mom and Tommy and even their Father, had become blurry during their time away. Like a dream that she could never quite remember.

A part of her wondered how her Mom had looked when she hadn't turned up to school that day, when she'd gotten the news that the Yatch had sank - dragging her children down with it.

"Mom.." Thea's chin trembled and she feels her lip quiver. Imagining seeing her Mother again and actually seeing her were two very different things. She feels herself turn back into the twelve year old girl who had wanted nothing more than to go home as she broke down into sobs and embraced her Mother. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry...I would never...if I'd known..." She sobbed, she had forced herself to forget about home - dwelling on the past could get you killed. And it wasn't until she felt her Mom wrap her arms around her that Thea realised just how much she had missed her.

She could see her reflection in the window, she was no longer the slightly chubby twelve year old with pigtails - she wondered how her Mom was reacting to that. How she would react to getting them both back. A part of her felt guilty about lying about what happened, especially since she wasn't meant to have been on the Gambit in the first place. She chuckled lowly as she tried to imagine who she would have become, some kind of spoilt rich brat probably.

Her Mother tries to soothe her as she murmured reassurances to her daughter, "It's okay Thea...your home now...oh my baby...my sweet baby girl...your home now...oh I've missed you." She could feel her Mother shaking against her as she held onto her.

Thea heard herself whisper, "I missed you too."

 **...**

It was around 9am the next day when their Mom came back, the Hospital had demanded to keep them both in overnight, to 'observe them.' Thea was pretty sure they wanted their Mom to place them both into an Asylum. She had overheard Doctor Lamb suggesting that they both be placed into therapy, to help them deal with the trauma they had gone through.

The Doctor reasoned that it was more than likely that she and Oliver had PTSD and that would need to be addressed so that they could both fit back into and function in normal society.

Oliver had refused, stonewalled the Doctors and reminded them that he was an adult and legally in charge of his own treatment which meant that he got to avoid being sent to the nuthouse every week.

Her Mom had scolded her when she had called it that whilst Doctor Lamb had let out a semi-forced burst of laughter and assured their Mom that it was okay. An honest to god session with a shrink, to "talk about the trauma that happened to her whilst on the Island." She couldn't wait to lie her way through that one, or she could just pull an 'Oliver' and say nothing - send the therapist a death glare if he pressed her for answers.

A brief smile flickered across her face at the mental image, quickly being replaced by a grimace when her Mom signed the paperwork that assigned her to a six-week therapy program.

This was going to be interesting.

 **. . .**

It had taken longer to do her discharge paperwork due to the fact that she was a "Juvenile," the whole tone of the conversation annoyed had her. She liked Doctor Lamb, he'd been treating her since she was born but the fact that the man was acting like she wasn't in the room was starting to grate on her.

The Doctor had wanted her to not be there whilst discussing it but her Mother had argued that Thea had a right to know as it concerned her, the whole debate between the two had sparked a warm feeling to ripple through her. She had forgotten what it was like to have a Mom, the closest things she had was a sister in Sara and Shado and a Father esque figure in Slade.

At least before everything had went wrong.

And small part of her wondered if that made Anatoly the "fun" Uncle.

Either way, it was nice to have a Mom to stick up for her.

Luckily she'd escaped the hell of having to re-attend school, the argument being that she would be too behind academically and it would be a pointless source of trauma when they considered the fact that she would have been graduating in a couple of months if she hadn't disapeared.

And so she was to have private tutoring at the Mansion, just until she got her GED.

Her brother's paperwork had taken a lot less time, he was old enough to sign his own medical paperwork and despite the Doctor's protests he had declined the offer of Therapy. All in all she was jealous of her brother in that moment.

Thea felt her Brother squeeze her shoulder reassuringly as their discharge papers were offically signed.

They were going home.

 **...**

When they arrived at the Mansion and Thea froze, she hadn't been home in years and a part of her had forgotten what it looked like. It felt like something out of a dream rather than the place she had spent twelve years of her life. After taking a moment to ready herself she stepped outside, standing alongside her Mother. She heard Oliver take the trunk from the Driver, still surprised by the fact no one had questioned that they had brought something with them from the Island.

Ollie had been right, no one had questioned them. He had almost ridiculed them for it during the planning but to Thea it made sense. Mom was just happy to have them back, if letting them bring back a old green wooden trunk back with them meant she would get her children back then there'd be no reason for her to protest.

"Your rooms are exactly as how I left them," Thea heard her Mom say, she winced and hoped that a Mother-Daughter shopping trip would fix that. She didn't really feel like living inside twelve-year old her's bedroom.

She wasn't that little kid anymore.

"-I never had the heart to change a thing."

The entrance hall was as grande and ornate as ever, pictures in silver frames and quite a few vases of flowers were dotted around the room, her attention was caught by a picture of herself, her Mother, Ollie and Dad stood outside of the Mansion - all with smiles on their faces. She looked so young, so did Ollie.

It was like looking at a stranger, Thea noticed that her brother had been staring at it too.

A man's voice caught both of their attentions, her head jerked up and she looked up to see a man watching them both, he practically bounded over to them. She frowned, something about him seemed familiar to her but she couldn't quite place him. Her brother placed himself in front of her, effectively blocking the man from reaching her should he be a threat.

She didn't need him to protect her.

"Oliver! Thea! It's damned good to see you," He immediately grabbed Oliver's hand and started to shake it, a bit too enthusiastically judging by Oliver's expression. She shot him a small polite smile and shook his hand, firm grip - if slightly sweaty.

Seemingly disappointed by the lack of a reaction he spoke again, "It's Walter...Walter Steele." The name sent a wave of recognition through Thea, the man who used to sit her on his lap and tell her stories of her Father's youth, give her cherry and grape soda, he was a regular fixture at family dinner and was her Godfather.

Malcom had been Ollie's, her mind supplied.

Idly she wondered if he would be making an appearance, the man had been close to her parents before the accident and if Walter was here waiting for them then maybe he was too. But judging by the stony expression on Oliver's face after seeing Walter she wondered if there was something more to her brother's lack of a reaction because if she remembered the man, despite the fact she was twelve when the Gambit sank, he must have been able to. Raising an eyebrow at him in a silent question she tried to work out what exactly it was that he was doing.

When her brother still didn't react a wave of tension shot through the room, creating an awkward silence, "You remember Walter? your Father's friend from the company?" Their Mother prompted, trying to get a sign of some sort of recognition from her son. When Oliver still didn't react Thea shot Walter an apologetic smile. Her brother was really sticking to the whole "silent and brooding," thing thus far.

A figure standing slightly off to the side caught her Brother's attention and a warm smile appeared on his face, a clear contrast to the one he had used to greet Walter It was the most he had reacted to anything so far since they'd left the hospital. Thea watched as her Mom and Walter both stiffened at that, clearly unhappy that the 'Help' had gotten a warmer reception than them. "It's good to see you Raisa."

Thea wasn't surprised, Raisa had practically raised Oliver when he was younger and her brother had loved her. "Welcome home Mr. Oliver," Raisa greeted, just as warmly before turning back to Mom and Walter, "Mr Merlyn phoned...if Mr. Tommy is okay with it he'd like to join you all for dinner."

Why would Tommy need to approve who came to dinner at their house? Thea's question was answered only moments later when a familiar figure appeared at the top of the staircase, "What did I tell you? Yatchs suck."

"Tommy?" She questioned, clearly shocked.

"Tommy." Oliver grinned, his entire demeanor changing, "Hey." The man's, because he was a man now not the teenager that Thea remembered, expression changed to match Oliver's as he raced down the stairs and enveloped his friend into a bearhug.

They clung to each other for a couple of minutes, patting each other on the back and muttering things that Thea couldn't quite hear. After a while Tommy and Oliver broke apart and Tommy's attention focused on her, she ran towards him and felt herself practically be scooped off of the ground by him. She let out a content sigh, "I missed you Tommy."

"Missed you too, speedy." He replied warmly, she had always thought of Tommy as a brother and although she hadn't been expecting to see him so soon she was glad he was here to welcome them back.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes as he let go of her, smiling the entire time, "Worst nickname ever, five years on a deserted Island and you still won't let me live it down."

"And I never will." He replied, with just as big of a smile.

 **. . .**

Tommy, it seemed, hadn't changed in the past five years. He still dominated the conversation and practically oozed charisma and charm, he reminded her of the old Ollie just a bit less of an asshole. Tommy had taken it upon himself to catch the Queen siblings on everything that they had missed over the past five years.

He also appeared to still hate and resent his Dad, the man had shown up for Dinner but after a screaming match with Tommy the man had left and Moira had been left to calm the situation.

The ease in which she did it told Thea that that was something that happened a lot.

"Ok." Tommy muttered, trying to work out what he had missed, "What else did you miss? Super bowl winners... Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Giants again. "

Thea chuckled and leaned in closer to her Brother from where she was sat on the corner of the table, next to him, "You owe me ten dollars." Causing everyone at the table to let out a chuckle or too, Thea thought that her Mom and Walter's seemed rather forced. On their way back they had bet on who would have been the superbowl winners, even during their time off of the Island they hadn't had time to catch up on pop culture and the modern world but they'd had time to kill on the plane from the embassy and they couldn't talk about anything important due to all of the prying eyes and ears around them.

"A black president, that's new." He shot them all a significant look, "Oh, and "Lost," they were all dead...I think." The man's head tilt at the end implied that he didn't seem to understand the ending himself.

Thea hadn't watched that show but Ollie had loved it.

"So, Tommy?" Thea began, "How long you been living here? I would have thought you'd be over at the Merlyn Mansion with your Father?"

Her Mom and Tommy both winced at that whilst Walter grimaced, "After you both...you know...your Mom struggled...before she met Walter and I was on my own." He shook his head and clenched his fists slightly, it clearly wasn't a pleasant memory, "I'd basically been living here since I was eight anyways, even before you disappeared, so I thought that I would make it official and make it so that your Mom wasn't completely on her own."

Thea smiled at him, "Thanks...for doing that."

"It really wasn't a problem." Tommy chuckled and shot a small smile at Moira which she returned, "We both needed the help and the company."

"So, what exactly was your time like there?" Walter asked whilst there was a pause in the conversation, Thea winced as tension filled the room. It was an innocent enough question but she didn't feel like answering it and even if she could she wouldn't. At least not honestly and if she didn't there was no way that Oliver was going to.

Before she could come up with a way to difuse the tension her brother called out a reply. "Cold." He said shortly, with a tone of forced humor.

The table all seemed to think about his answer for a moment, no one quite knowing what exactly to say next.

Tommy broke the silence, "Tomorrow, you and me, we're doing the city. You've got a lot to catch up on." Realising he had left Thea out of his offer he turned to her with a smile, "You can come too Speedy."

"I can't...I've been signed up for Therapy," Thea muttered with a pointed look towards her Mom, "You could drive me there and meet me afterwards? Would be nice to scope out Starling City." She was planning on spending tomorrow at the Mansion, she would have today if she hadn't been forced into Therapy by Doctor Lamb and her Mother.

She just wanted one normal day.

Moria voiced her approval, "That sounds like a great idea Tommy...it will be nice for the three of you to get out and see the city."

"Good." Oliver replied smoothly, "Then I was hoping to swing by the office."

Thea frowned at that and shot her brother a wide-eyed look, he hadn't mentioned that to her. Why would he want to go to Queen Consolidated when he could spend the time with Tommy?

Apparently her Mom also thought that was a strange idea, sharing an uncertain look with Walter before the man spoke, "Well there's plenty of time for all of that...Queen Consolidated isn't going anywhere."

Tommy opened his mouth to fill the lull in conversation and change the tone of conversation to a lighter one when Raisa walked in carrying a bowl of pears, the woman appeared to have tripped on the carpet when Oliver reached out and grabbed her. Steadying the woman before she could fall.

Raisa immediately became apologetic, "Oh! I am so sorry Mr Oliver."

Oliver quickly replied, though not in the language everyone had been expecting him to use, "Это не беспокойство, [It's no worry]."

Thea winced at her Brother's lapse, wondering if he had done it on purpose and if so to what end. Either way she could practically hear Anatoly's voice in her head commenting on her brother's pronounciation.

About the fact that he spoke with an American accent, Thea's accent however was perfect. She seemed to have a talent for languages.

"Dude?" Tommy questioned incredulously, "You speak russian?"

"I didn't realise you took Russian at college Oliver," Walter murmured as he dabbed at his face with a hankerchief.

Without missing a beat Oliver looked up from his plate with a calm and steely gaze, "I didn't realize you wanted to sleep with my mother, Walter." In a tone that suggested annoyance? Anger? Thea couldn't quite place it. He looked at Thea with raised eyebrows as if to say and jerked his head towards the pair, as if to ask her whether she had noticed or not.

She hadn't, apparently her observational skills still needed some work. She had still been surprised by her brother's cold tone, surely it was a good thing that Mom had moved on? As long as she was happy Thea didn't care who she slept with.

Walter and Moria both shot an accusing glance towards Tommy who raised his hands in mock surrender, "I didn't say anything to them ."

"He didn't have to." Oliver called out, taking the attention back off of Tommy.

Mom hesitated before responding, Thea wondered how long after their disapearance that 'it' had happened. "Oliver...Walter and I are married, and I don't want you to think that either one of us did anything to disrespect your father."

Once again Thea felt herself wince, first they brought up the Island and now Dad. This wasn't exactly going how she had planned, maybe she and Ollie should have actually made a plan.

Walter chose that moment to cut in, "We both believed that the two of you...like Robert...were, uh, well gone."

Thea watched as her brother's shutters went down, a flash of pain shooting across his face before he gingerly stood up from his seat, "It's fine." His expression tightened before speaking again, "May I be excused?" When their Mom nodded he smiled to thank her and grabbed a pear out of the bowl on the table.

She guessed that being home was taking a bigger toll on her brother than he had expected.

Oliver winked reassuringly at her. "Hey! Don't forget about tomorrow buddy." Tommy called out, earning himself a pat on the shoulder off of Oliver.

Debating with herself for a second she smiled apologetically at Tommy, Walter and Mom in turn before standing up herself. "I should probably go after him." She murmured before excusing herself and chasing after her brother.

As she left the room she heard Tommy mutter, "Oliver never took Russian at college." She winced as she tried to work out how exactly they were going to fix this.

Things weren't going to be so easy for them after all.

 **...**

She found her brother in his room, she was surprised that she still remembered the way there. When she was younger she used to sneak into it on a nighttime to watch movies with him when she was meant to be asleep.

As soon as she entered her brother spoke, "Thea...that dinner took a lot out of me...if your here to yell at me about how I reacted to Mom and Walter or about my linguistic lapse then I'd really love it if you could save it until the morning." He was sat slumped against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest.

It was all too achingly familiar to how he had sat on the liferaft after the Gambit went down and the lost expression on his face made the anger and resentment she was feeling evaporate. Thea surveyed her brother and his expression, the Island had taught her a lot about reading people. Although if Mom and Walter were anything to go by it hadn't taught her enough. And she could tell he was on the edge, they had both known that coming back was going to be hard.

That they were going to have to deal with questions, the media hounding them, having to lie to the people closest to them and whatever repercussions their night-time activities would bring.

But she hadn't thought it would be this hard for him, Oliver had always been her rock - he had kept her steady and alive and in return she tried her best to help him hold on to his humanity.

He wasn't lying when he said he didn't have it in him to have a confrontation with her, truthfully she didn't either. Her anger had evaporated leaving her weary and exhausted, she was glad to be home but she didn't know how she was going to cope in the long run. She had prepared to come in all guns blazing and ask him what exactly his play was, why he had baited Walter into giving him a chance to reveal that he knew about their relationship and tell him that he should give the man a chance.

Technically he was their step-Father and she was just glad that their Mom hadn't been alone, in the rare moments she had allowed herself to dwell and think about Mom she had always felt a strong sense of guilt for leaving on the Gambit with Ollie and leaving their Mom behind. At least this way their Mom hadn't been left alone to be consumed by grief, instead she had found love.

Thea was happy for her.

"Why'd you react like that?" She questioned, it had been a shock to her and she assumed Ollie had been shocked when he realised that their Mother had remarried but she didn't understand why he had blown up.

He shot her a small forced smirk, "I reacted how they would have expected me to, arrogant playboy - remember?" He jerked a finger towards himself.

"We both know that's a lie..." She cut herself off and sat down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, "How did you know? About Mom and Walter?"

"Why else would Dad's CFO be hanging around? Either he was really happy to have us back or they were together." He shrugged, she let out an annoyed huff as his shoulder jerked into her head, "The way they were acting at dinner...it brought back memories of Mom and Dad...family dinner's every other night...you'd babble about school and whatever had made you happy that day...everyone...we...just looked happy...I didn't think that I'd missed that as much as I had."

She sat up and looked at her brother in surprise, he had shared way more than she thought he would have. She was expecting monosyllabic answers at best, maybe being home really was taking a toll on him. "I missed it too, but we're home now...and we can't fix Dad's wrongs just to hurt Mom whilst we're back...otherwise we might as well have came back and not told anyone." She sighed, "I know we're here because of the list b-"

"Yes, we are." He cut her off, "That's why I came back." she could practically see his shutters going down as he forced himself to straighten up and his blank expression replaced the one he had been wearing before. "It's late Thea, you should go rest...busy day tomorrow."

"Ok." She sighed and got up, looking back at her brother with a sense of anxiety and dread, she wasn't used to sleeping far away from him. In Russia they'd shared a run down apartment, courtesy of Anatoli, in Hong-Kong they'd lived with Tatsu and Maseo and on the Island they had slept wherever there was shelter but it had always been within eyesight of eachother.

Now she was going to be about eight rooms down the hall and she didn't know quite how to feel about that. "By the way..Tommy knows you didn't take Russian...up to you how you want to handle that." He grunted in response and she sighed, "Night Ollie."

"Night Thea."

 **...**

Thea was no stranger to nightmares, she knew how they brought out the darkest parts of your life and forced you to relive them. Her dreams often liked to remind her of Fyers, Ivo, Waller, Constatine and sometimes...although she'd never tell him...she saw Oliver or at least what he had done.

She loved her brother and she owed him so much but there was a darkness inside of him that she was afraid of.

It wasn't that she thought he was a monster or evil by any means, she had looked Monster's in the eyes and she knew that Ollie wasn't like that. But he had skinned someone alive and she could still remember hearing the man's screams, Anatoly and Oliver wouldn't let her see the body - not that she'd wanted to. Whilst Oliver hadn't known she had noticed how Anatoly had paled, his voice trembled ever so slightly and how he had dry-heaved upon leaving the room.

And he was the leader of a family of the Russian mob, he had seen gory deaths and corpses.

What Oliver did was beyond torture and she was scared of what he would do now they were home, now that he had everything to loose.

She remembered Waller showing her the videos of her brothers 'interrogations' the woman had claimed it was because of her naivety and youth that Thea hadn't understood how he could do that and when Oliver returned from his one year mission, he hadn't been the same.

So when she heard a voice calling out in the middle of the night, she knew it was her Brother and she knew that she had to get to him before Mom or Walter did.

Trying to wake her brother up the wrong way was the best way to end up black and blue.

She should know, she had tried it herself a couple of times.

 **. . .**

"Oliver! Wake up!"

The nightmares came easily to Oliver, it'd been five years without a peaceful sleep. The day brought danger and death and then the night brought the demons inside of his head out to play, the guilt and the hatred and the memories would all come surging to the surface like a dam inside of him had broke. Sometimes they were of Thea and what Fyers and his men had done to her, sometimes they were of what they had done to him. More often than not they were about the sinking of the Gambit, the fateful event that had changed his life forever.

Changed who and what he was forever.

 **...**

Thea Queen was a light sleeper, courtesy of the Island, so when her brother's cries echoed through the hallway it woke her up from her not-so peaceful slumber. She knew just how bad nightmares could be, especially Ollie's and she also knew the risks that could be associated with trying to wake him up from them.

Which was exactly what his Mom and Walter were probably going to try and do.

She cursed to herself and hurried towards his room, hoping to stop things before Mom ended up all battered and bruised.

The sight that greeted her was a familiar one, Oliver curled up into a ball - trembling and shaking as the memories and the nightmares fought to overtake him. "Mom!" Thea yelled as her Mother approached Oliver, "Don't touch him!"

Her Mother shot her a confused look, bordering on hurt, "Thea...he's crying...as if he's in pain...he's my _son!_ I can't just leave him."

"I've seen him like this before!" Thea replied, "I've been in his position...wake him up the wrong way and he might kill you." She stared at her Mother, silently pleading for her to understand "If he hurts you he won't be able to forgive himself."

Something she said must have gotten through to her, she nodded at her in a silent thanks as she stepped away from Oliver. Thea could see the rain spraying his back and noticed the shards of glass scattered on the carpet, a part of her wondered when he had ended up on the floor.

He was moaning and writhing in agony at the memories, she couldn't begin to guess which particular demons had chosen to torment him tonight - five years of hell meant that there were hundreds to choose from. She took slow and careful steps forwards towards Oliver, murmuring assurances "You're safe...we're home...Ollie...it's me." She kept up the steady mantra as she approached him.

She jerked forwards slightly and grabbed his arm, reacting fast enough to get out of the way when he made a move to flip her. "Ollie! Your safe!" She placed her arms around his neck and muttered into his ear, "Wake up!"

Thea felt him go limp before jerking upwards, his eyes wide and frantic as he scanned the room around them. She watched as he assessed the situation, how he froze upon realising where he was and who he was with.

He moved away from her and crouched slightly as he fought to control his breathing and get his heart rate back under control, Oliver knew that his Mom and Walter would both want an explanation but it wasn't in him to give them it. Not tonight.

Sighing Thea stood up and turned to face her Mom and Walter, "You have questions...but please...leave it for now." She clenched her fists and guided her brother back to his bed, murmuring apologies and reassurances.

This was nowhere near one of his worst episodes but it still left them both pretty shaken when one of them had a nightmare.

"It's going to be okay Ollie." Thea murmured, not entirely sure which of them she was trying to convince.

 **...**

Thea made her way towards her Mother's room, she knew that their Mom was probably shaken from the events of last night. Thea understood exactly what had been going through her brother's mind and yet the scene that had unfolded had scared her too, her brother had always been the strong one.

She wasn't used to seeing him without his guard down.

It wouldn't be long until he threw himself into their crusade as a way to cope, using the Hood to separate himself from his emotions, using it as a reason and an excuse to pretend that everything was perfectly normal. That he was perfectly normal rather than allowing people to know how messed up he was, despite the fact that he had every right to be.

"Mom," She called out as she knocked on her door, slightly unsure about whether she would be able to just enter or not.

Her Mother's slightly flustered face greeted her as the door swung open, "Thea! Morning? What exactly are you doing here? I thought you would be with Oliver and Tommy."

"I am." She replied, "I just wanted to talk to you...about Ollie? Raisa said that Tommy was still getting ready so I thought I'd come talk to you now rather than later."

Her Mother stiffened for a second before nodding, "Last night?"

"Yes," Thea nodded, "About that...look...I saw your face yesterday...when he said hello to Raisa...you looked upset...and I wanted to try to fix that?" She explained weakly, not sure about whether she was even making sense or not, she wasn't exactly used to dealing with familial problems. "Anyways...I have something for you...technically Ollie does."

She handed her Mother the Hozen, explaining what it was before her Mother could question her about it, "It's a Hozen and in Buddhism, it symbolizes reconnecting." When her Mother's confused look remained she explained further, "On the Island Ollie gave me it...he'd tell me every night that as long as I kept this that one day...we'd get home."

Thea smiled nervously, "We kept it in the hopes that one day it would reconnect us to you." slowly she handed her Mother the Hozen, suddenly embarrassed about the entire gesture. "He didn't forget...he missed you...we both did."

"A rock!" A voice called out, she turned to see Tommy standing in the doorway with his usual shiteating grin firmly in place as he swaggered over to the pair of them. "You know, I want one of those t-shirts that says 'My friend was a castaway, and all I got was this crappy shirt."

"I'll tell Ollie," She teased before turning back to her Mother, "Sorry...it's probably a stupid gesture...I'll take it back if you want."

Her Mother shook her head and Thea was surprised to see a slightly tearful expression forming on her expression, without any warning her Mother pulled her into a quick embrace. "Thank you Thea...it's lovely..." She heard her Mother take a deep breath before pulling away and forcing a smile onto her face, "You are going to be late if you don't leave now though."

"Therapy...bleuch...who could forget." She mock-complained before giving her Mother a small shy smile and following Tommy out of the room.

 **. . .**

Oliver drummed his fingers against the car seat as they drove into the city, they came to a halt outside of Starling City General. He chuckled at the annoyed expression on his sister's face, he had no doubt that she couldn't wait to get into therapy. He was thankful for the fact that there wasn't a media presence in the Glades, otherwise he and Tommy would have to spend most of the day avoiding the journalists and media frenzy.

"Don't let him get you into too much trouble," Thea called out as she exited the car, "You just got back, take it slow." He couldn't help but feel that warning had a double meaning to it.

Once they were sure she was safely inside Tommy pressed down his foot on the gas and Oliver watched as they sped through the city, idly thinking back to the days where they'd speed through the city in an attempt to break as many traffic laws as they could.

"The city awaits." Tommy called out with a smirk, "By the way...have you noticed how hot your sister has gotten?" He murmured, briefly taking his attention off of the road to grin at Oliver.

Oliver shot his friend a death-glare, silently daring the man to say anything else - he would beat up Tommy without any hesitation if he tried to make a move on his sister. He could only hope Tommy was joking.

His friend gulped and turned his attention back to the road, carefully avoiding Oliver's deadly expression and warning glare, "Because I have not."

The two fell into silence as Oliver looked out the window at the city around them, it looked the way that he had remembered it. Then again, it had only been two years since he had last been in Starling City. It was with a pang that he realised that very same year he had been forced to look through the scope of a gun down at his friend and then plunge a syringe into that very same friend's neck.

He wondered if Tommy was going to mention that, mention that he'd went all the way to Hong Kong to try to find him. Or the subsequent kidnapping that had happened.

"Your funeral blew." Tommy muttered.

Oliver chuckled and grinned, shaking his head at his friend, "Did you get lucky?" He would be shocked if Tommy Merlyn hadn't used the situation to his advantage.

"Fish in a barrel." Tommy commented with a sly grin, "They were so sad..." He broke into laughter at the memory as he thought about that day, choosing to remember the better part of that day rather than the funeral of the man he considered his brother.

"No.." Oliver said with mock-scandal, trying not to picture just how his friend had spent the night of his funeral.

"And huggy." Tommy added, "And I am expecting another target rich environment for your welcome home bash."

"At my what?" Oliver shot his friend a confused look, he hadn't been planning on having a party. Though maybe it could work to his advantage, what better way to show everyone that he hadn't changed, show that his playboy persona was still firmly in place by throwing a party.

Just like the old Oliver Queen.

"You came back from the dead. This calls for a party. You tell me where and when. I'll take care of everything." Tommy planned, clearly not planning on taking no for an answer. They came to a halt in a rough part of the glades, Tommy looked around at their surroundings with a look of faint disgust "And this city's gone to crap. Your dad sold his factory just in time. And why'd you want to drive through this neighborhood anyway?"

Oliver looked out of the window to his left, where his Father's factory still remained. A shell of what it had once been. But maybe it could still be useful, serve them as a base of operations and would help him help the city as the Hood.

He didn't quite know how 'Oliver Queen' would help the city though.

"No reason."

Tommy paused as if waiting for him to elaborate before his smile was fixed firmly back in place, "So...what'd you miss the most...steaks at the palm...drinks at the station..." His friend rose his eyebrows suggestively, smirking "The meaningless sex."

"Laurel." Oliver replied quietly, thinking back to the photo he had carried with him for years. His reminder of home throughout the hell he had endured. He noticed how his friend had tensed up at the mention of Laurel, he wondered if that was because of their not so secret 'secret' relationship.

Tommy groaned, "Everyone is happy you're alive." His friend questioned with disbelief, "You want to see the one person who isn't?"

"It would be stupid of me to expect her to feel otherwise Tommy, I got her sister killed but that doesn't change the fact I want to see her...I need to see her." A part of him wondered if Tommy's reluctance was due to their relationship, he wondered if Tommy was going to tell him. He only knew because of Waller dragging Thea and himself back to Starling City.

Oliver shrugged helplessly in response earning a sigh from Tommy and a string of muttered curses about how this wasn't going to end well.

 **. . .**

Meanwhile

On the ride to the office she'd been stricken by how shitty the Glades had become, they weren't exactly the lap of luxury before but now they were practically the slums of the city. All thanks to her Father and his rich friends.

Oliver was probably having a great time with Tommy, even if there was the whole 'Laurel' shaped elephant in the room or more accurately the car, whilst she was stuck in a Therapist's Office waiting for an appointment with her Shrink.

Doctor Pressnall, was to be her psychiatrist - although Thea was not going to let the woman perscribe her any drugs. Drugs and sedatives led to a lack of an awareness which could only ever lead to danger.

Being in the Therapist's Office was bad enough, she was on high-alert and tensed up at every sign of movement. There were too many unknown variables whilst she was stuck in a room full of strangers and if she was attacked she didn't know if she could defend herself properly without ruining everything.

If they knew what she and Ollie could do then it'd be far too easy for the SCPD and the general public to make the link between the two returned Castaway's with fighting abilities and the two vigilante's who had magically appeared overnight.

The therapist's office was far too clean and polished for Thea's tastes, it lacked the personal touch that she would have expected a place like it to have. Surely they'd want to make patients feel at home rather than boring them to death with a white and grey colour pallate.

Several magazine's were littered across the table in front of her, she eyed up the headlines curiously, the old her used to be obsessed with tabloids - who was sleeping with who, which singer had released a new albumn and what were the best TV show's to watch.

It seemed that the world hadn't changed that much.

She occupied herself by making observations around the people around her, that was the talent of hers that Waller had decided to hone; The receptionist's nails were down to the cuticle - she was probably stressed and judging by the way she kept eyeing up the door to a Doctor Streseman's office she assumed it had something to do with him - probably a romantic relationship that had gone horrible wrong, a man was sat opposite her with dogtags around his neck - war Veteran.

"Thea Queen," A voice called out from behind her.

She groaned as she stood up and walked towards the office, she should have blackmailed Ollie into getting their Mom to ease off, "Here." Thea muttered in response.

This was going to be a long, long 35 minutes.

 **. . .**

His meeting with Laurel did not go well.

Oliver stood in the middle of the street with Laurel opposite him, "You went to Law School? You said you would." A fond expression flickered across his face as he remembered the night when Laurel had first told him of her plan to become a Lawyer, he was pretty sure he had made some asshole-esque comment and had spent the rest of the night trying to make it up to her.

And now here she was, Laurel Lance...Lawyer extraordinaire, championing the rights of the underdogs.

"Yeah." Laurel replied shortly, "Everyone's proud."

He winced at her tone, he hadn't been expecting a warm welcome but it didn't make it any easier to hear her cool tone. "Adam Hunt's a heavy hitter." He murmured, trying to make conversation "You sure you want to get into the ring with him?"

She let out a short sharp disbelieving laugh, "Five years and you want to talk about Adam Hunt?"

"No." He replied softly, shaking his head, "Not really."

Laurel snorted and turned around to face him, her composure slipping, ""Why are you here Ollie?"

He hesitated, trying to find the right words to say what exactly he wanted to say, "To apologise." He settled on finally, "It was my fault...and I wanted to ask you not to blame her." His mind flashed back to Sara, finding her and then loosing her on the Amazo.

He had gotten her killed twice.

"For what?" Laurel raised her eyebrows, gearing herself up for a fight as she finally let out her anger and frustration. Let out what she'd been forced to bottle up for five years, "Falling under your spell. How could I possibly blame her for doing the same things that I did?"

"I never meant to..." Oliver tried but Laurel cut him off, clearly not finished.

"She was my sister!" Laurel yelled, "I couldn't be angry because she was dead..I couldn't grieve because I was so angry! That's what happens when your sister dies whilst screwing your boyfriend." She sighed, "We buried an empty coffin because the body was at the bottom of the ocean where you left her." She pointed an accusing finger towards him before taking a step back.

Hatred and venom filled her expression, "It should have been you." She spat at him.

"I know that it's too late to say this...but I'm sorry." He offered weakly, not knowing what else he could do to fix things between them.

"Yeah I'm sorry too..you got my sister killed and made it so that yours went through Hell...whilst I would never wish that upon Thea I'd hoped that you'd rot in hell a whole lot longer than five years." She shook her head and walked off towards where Tommy was standing at the door outside of her office.

"How did you think that was going to go Tommy?" She muttered with a frustrated expression.

Shaking his head he watched as she walked off, "About like that." He murmured, wishing that his friend had just taken his advice and let things be between the two of them.

He didn't want either of them to get more hurt than they already had.

 **. . .**

Meanwhile

Thea had been sitting across Doctor Pressnall in silence for about twenty minutes and Thea had never been so bored. She wasn't used to sitting around doing nothing, she could feel herself practically vibrating with energy - although she made sure to keep herself composed and seemingly at ease in front of the Doctor.

"You need to let me help you Thea," Doctor Pressnall spoke carefully, she seemed to weigh up her words before speaking and Thea shifted uncomfortably under the woman's gaze. Her voice was calm and she seemed to genuinely care about her, although Thea was sure that that wasn't true.

It was her job to pretend to care, just because she was nice to her didn't mean that Thea was going to suddenly just tell her everything that had happened to her. The idea was laughable, why would she tell a stranger something she could barely deal with herself?

Five more weeks and then her mandatory period of Therapy was over and she hoped to God that her Mother wouldn't issue any more sessions.

"Neither of us are going to gain anything by sitting in silence Miss Queen," Pressnall said calmly as she tapped her pen against the notebook on her lap, "Do you wish to know what I think Miss Queen?"

Thea muttered sarcasitcally, "I have a feeling you're about to tell me."

"It's obvious that you are suffering from PTSD," The Doctor began, "You've been through five years of unimaginable pain and suffering...and it all started from such a young age for you so if you weren't suffering from PTSD then I'd be far more concerned." She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at her young patient, "Perhaphs I'm wrong...maybe your not as damaged as you have every right to be."

The Doctor paused, "You don't wish to relive the trauma that you've experienced and that is perfectly understandable Thea but the only way to get through it is to accept that it happened and share it...lighten the burden...you can't push trauma like that into the back of your head and refuse to acknowledge it...like a wound it will only grow and fester until it's almost impossible to bear."

"I'm fine." Thea snapped, wishing for the session to be over. The Doctor didn't understand and seemed to think that all of her problems were going to be solved through a heart to heart, as if the key to reaching her was going to be metaphors and meaningless talk.

"You can't just lock everything up and pretend your okay," Pressnall continued, "Sooner or later this wall...mask...whatever you wish to call it will fall apart and things will be much harder for you when it does."

The Doctor narrowed her eyes at her and Thea huffed slightly, "So you want me to relive every bad thing that has happened to me to satisfy your own curiousity? So you can slap a bunch of lables onto me and call yourself a Doctor." She growled out, letting her anger free, "I have PTSD...I accept that and I've never denied it but I don't want therapy...you don't know what I've been through and what I've done and you never will...these sessions are a waste of both of our times."

Thea clenched her fists and sagged against the chair, "I'm sorry okay...but this isn't where I want to be...I'm sorry for taking up your time Doc." She shot the Doctor a semi-apologetic look before leaving the room and her Psychiatrist behind her.

 **. . .**

"Okay! So we took care of that, good call!" Tommy called out sarcastically, as he and Oliver made their way back towards the car "Now we can make up for lost time...if your not too sick of fish, I suggest we find some leggy models and eat Sushi all day." Oliver tilted his head at his friend, observing him carefully, had his friend really not changed in five years? Or was it an act, to try and help 'ease' him back into life?

Seeing that his friend hadn't said anything Tommy grinned, "What do you say?"

Oliver didn't reply, something felt wrong, something felt off.

He span around to see a figure approaching them, they let out a sharp whistle and waved. Thea. That whistle was the signal that they had developed on the Island, one sharp whistle for when it was safe and one low one for when there was danger.

"Thea!" Tommy called out with a grin, "How was Therapy?"

That earned him the middle-finger in response and Oliver chuckled at that reaction from his sister, it was the most normal teenager-ish thing that he had seen in decades. Maybe Starling City was rubbing off on her.

"Tommy was just suggesting that we find some models and get some sushi." Oliver added with an eye roll, they had both ended up with a love-hate relationship with fish after the time on the Island.

Thea shruggd, "As long as we get some food inside of me and do something to make me forget about the horrors of Therapy I'll be fine with whatever."

The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up and goosebumps rippled across his skin, the Island had taught him to trust his senses - they were all he could rely on. He noticed that Thea had tensed up too, if they were both feeling it then it was probably more than a hunch.

Oliver's reply was cut off as a van sped into the small alley where Tommy had parked his car, he grabbed his friend and pushed him forwards - in an attempt to make sure it couldn't collide with him.

"What the hell?" Tommy cried out, Oliver tensed up - feeling the adrenaline surge through him.

Something wasn't right.

Armed men appeared from around a corner, effectively cutting them off from both ends.

They were trapped and he could feel everything inside of him going into overdrive. "What the hell?" Tommy cried out, Oliver tensed up - feeling the adrenaline surge through him. He noticed that Thea was taking up a defensive stance and was readying herself for a fight.

Whilst he wanted to keep his new fighting ability private he was going to do anything to protect Tommy and Thea.

The men had red skull masks on, masks usually meant that they weren't planning on killing their targets. Otherwise they'd have nothing to hide, a dead man can't spill the names of his killers.

He watched as Tommy stumbled, the distraction enough for the masked men to land a dart in Oliver and Thea's neck. He winced as a tranq dart landed in his neck. Hazily he pulled the dart out of his neck, trying to work out wht exactly it was.

Before he could do anything he fell to his knees, his vision was blurring and for one horrible second he thought that this was it. That he was going to die, in a back alley of the Glades. He tried to threaten them, tried to channel the darkness but it gave way to exhaustion and numbness.

His arms and legs felt like lead, too heavy to move and he was too exhausted to try to make them. He was slipping away from the world and being consumed by the darkness, his anger and desperation to protect Tommy and Thea giving away to the abyss.

The last thing he saw before he collapsed to the ground was a wave of bullets tearing into an unfortunate passerby's torse.

The man collapsed to the ground and the blood stained the grey slabs of the Glades.

He couldn't do anything before the black dragged him under.

 **...**

Thea came round to the dark and the cold, weakly she called out for her brother. Oliver wouldn't let someone take her, plus they had kidnapped the three of them together. No point doing that unless they needed the three of them.

She could vaguely make out her Brother in front of her, tied to a chair with restraints around his wrists. Her lip twitched slightly at that revelation, zipties couldn't and wouldn't hold her brother - Anatoly had taught them both how to escape them.

Making sure to stay as still as possible she decided to play dead, or more accurately play unconcious, like a Possum from one of those nature show's her Dad used to watch with her.

"Did you make it to the island!?" An impatient muffled voice demanded, she heart the hum of electricity and a grunt from her brother. She winced as it brought memories of Slade crashing back to her, he had made them listen as he electrocuted her brother.

And now it appeared someone was trying that paticular torture tactic again, even if they happened to be going a hell of a lot easier on him than Slade had.

She watched as the man questioned him, how her brother offered no response - Thea knew exactly what her brother was doing. Using the pain from the taser to hide the real source of his pain, escaping restrains wasn't painless and it hurt like a bitch.

But it was effective.

Thea forced herself to ignore her brother's cries, he had to be pretending. He had to be otherwise her brother was currently in a world of pain and she was doing nothing to help him. Should the situation be reversed she knew that he would start fighting straight away but she also knew that he would tell her to continue playing dead.

She prayed that he was close to getting the zipties off.

"Did he tell you anything?"

Her Father's confession, she realised with a sudden jolt of clarity. That was the only thing they could be talking about - unless their Father had any other deathbed confessions that he had failed to make.

But why? All he had done was give Ollie a notebook and go on to say how he had failed the city. Hell he hadn't even explained the book to them, instead leaving them a video that they came across years later.

"Yes." He sighed, "He did."

Thea tensed up, getting ready to spring up from where she was - either they had somehow broken her brother in what would quite frankly be record time or he was free. And if he was free then the men who had taken them were dead-men.

"He told me that I'm going to kill you."

The men broke into laughter and Thea rolled her eyes at their arrogance, he was going to make them pay. And she was going to make sure that Tommy was okay. Maybe beat up some of these hired thugs.

Maybe not in that paticular order.

"You're delusional." The man taunted, "You're zip-cuffed to that chair."

Not anymore.

And as Oliver jumped up from his chair Thea almost felt a pang of sympathy for the men, either her brother was going to kill them or she was. They kidnapped her and her brothers, because as far as she was concerned Tommy was a honorary Queen, electrocuted her brother and drugged her.

They were so dead.

She sprang to life, pausing briefly to look at Tommy before throwing herself into the action. Thea grabbed a pipe from where it had been discarded on the ground and lunged towards one of the men, hitting him in the back of his skull she watched with a satisfied smile as he collapsed to the ground.

The sound of bullets caused her to jump the ground, mostly on reflex, Ollie grabbed the thug he had been fighting and spun him around - using the man as a human shield. She mentally stored that trick for later, maybe it could come in handy.

As the man with the gun dropped it and fled she shared a look with Oliver and nodded at him, "I've got Tommy...you deal with him."

He paused, seemingly conflicted before nodding at her and sprinting after the man. Thea knew that he wasn't going to get away, he could run as far as he wanted to but no one escapes her brother after hurting his family.

She let out a sigh as she felt Tommy's pulse under her fingertips, the steady drum of his heartbeat causing her to sigh in relief. Tommy was alive.

He was okay.

Sighing she realized that the 'Starling Vigilante's were going to have to make an earlier appearance in the city than they had originally thought.

 **. . .**

An ambulance had checked them all out at the scene, giving the three of them a clear bill of health - albeit a bit reluctantly. When they had discovered that Oliver had been tasered they had wanted to keep him in for observation but he had assured them that he was feeling alright.

Whilst Thea was aware that she and her brother had a very different idea of 'alright' when compared to most people she believed him. He had been through a hell of a lot worse and it was going to take more than a couple of hired thugs to take them out.

When he had came back they had shared a knowing look, he nodded in a silent affirmation that the man had been taken care of and Thea, as much as she hated it, had felt relieved at the knowledge.

Thea kept shooting concerned looks at Tommy on their way back to the Mansion, the man had been silent and shaken since their ordeal. Not that she was or would be holding it against him, it was his second ever kidnapping and the first one hadn't really counted.

Technically.

Plus it had probably brought back bad memories of that kidnapping, she wished that she could offer him some kind of comfort or tell him that she knew all about Hong-Kong but that would pose too big of a risk and raise too many questions. She couldn't tell Tommy that he had in fact found them, that he had been less than a meter away from her and Oliver and he hadn't even known it.

The police had let them go back to the Manor to make their statements, although Thea suspected that kindness was mainly for Tommy and herself - she doubted he would ever show her Brother any kindness. But as they actually got into the interview it seemed that allowing their statements to be made in the Mansion was about as far as he was willing to go in terms of showing any of them kindness.

And after Oliver gave Quentin his statement she was pretty sure that the man wanted to punch him. "So that's your story?" The man questioned incredulously, "A man in a green-hood flew in and single-handedly took out three armed kidnappers?" He let out a short laugh, "I mean, who is he? Why would he do that?"

"Find him and you can ask." Oliver said calmly.

Detective Lance barely suppressed an eye-roll as he turned to Tommy and Thea as he gestured towards the sketch his companion was holding, "What about you? Did you see the 'Hood' guy?"

Thea shook her head, "They drugged us...some dart? Maybe...I remember masks.." She took care to make sure that her voice trembled in the right places and that she was appearing to strain with the effort of remembering, "I woke up and there was this movement...Ollie was tied to something? A chair? This guy came in...killed them...cut Ollie's binds and he disappeared...I was pretty out of it Detective."

She wouldn't have noticed her brother's look of approval if her gaze hadn't flickered over to him.

Tommy shrugged helplessly, "I just..saw movement.." he squinted and his brow furrowed in thought, "Everything was blurry...I was kinda out of it...like Thea said...they drugged us."

"Yeah." Lance muttered, "It's funny isn't it? One day back and already somebody's gunning for you." He snorted and barked out a short laugh, though there was no warmth behind it, "Aren't you popular." He turned to face Oliver for the last part of his statement.

Thea noticed how his Mom stiffened, shooting the Detective's a disapproving look, in an attempt to diffuse the tension between Detective Lance and Oliver she smoothly cut into the conversation "Were you able to identify the men?" She frowned at the way her Mother was fiddling with her wedding ring as she asked that, she must be anxious.

Then again her son, daughter and unofficial-son were just kidnapped mere days after two of them returned from a deserted island, she was entitled to a bit of anxiety and unease.

It would be stranger if she was completely at ease with the entire thing.

Detective Hilton shook his head, "Scrubbed identities...untraceable weapons...these were pros."

Thea heard a quiet snort erupt from her brother and she couldn't help but think that they could have told the Police that. Working out who was a pro and who was an amateur was easy, these guys were professionals and must have been paid a lot of money by some shady businessman. Or woman.

At least now that person wouldn't have to actually pay the men they hired, really Oliver had done their would-be kidnapper's employer a favor.

"Yeah." Detective Lance muttered, "Well, they probably figured you'd pay a king's ransom to get your boy back or a Queen's ransom, as it were." He snorted, seemingly proud of his pun, "After all, a parent would do anything to keep their child safe." His tone became bitter and his gaze met Oliver's, he could see the fury in the man's gaze and idly wondered if he was going to punch him.

His mother's voice cut off his musings, "I don't find your tone appropriate, Detective."

"If Oliver can think of anything else, he'll be in touch." Walter cut in, "Thank you, gentlemen, for coming." He added with a firm yet polite smile, as he gestured for Raisa to escort the two men to the door.

"Your luck never seems to run out, does it." Quentin managed to spit out before he left the Mansion.

. . .

Thea followed behind her Brother on the way to his room with a grin on her face, "You know I think that Detective Lance is onto something," at her Brother's questioning expression she mimed having a hood on, "The Hood,' new country, new name right? Unless you'd rather be known as the 'Archer' again? Seems America's about as creative as Russia when it comes to their nicknames."

Her other ideas were; The Arrow for Oliver, Green Arrow & Red Arrow respectively, Artemis for herself and although she'd never admit it to her brother she had actually been considering using Speedy as an alias.

He chuckled, "What and what should I call you? Speedy?"

She lightly punched him on the shoulder, "That's not going to be my name."

"I don't know, I always thought that it fit you pretty well...running around after me as a kid." He teased as they entered his room, she thought back to when they were kids - she had been a typical baby sister who'd adored her brother and ran around after him all of the time.

His nickname for her did fit and now she was going to be running around after him during their nighttime activities she murmured, "Maybe it still does."

When they both got into his room she waited until the door was closed before she finally posed the question she had been desperate to ask. "Why do you think they were asking about Dad?" She asked hurriedly, the question coming out before she stopped herself.

Ollie shrugged but otherwise offered no response, she sighed and allowed the question to be ignored - not even offering a sarcastic or annoyed comment when he changed the subject. "I guess this means we'll have to move our plans forwards."

"I guess so." She mumbled, "Did you find somewhere for us to set up?"

Oliver nodded, "I thought about Dad's old steelworks factory...with a bit of fixing up it'll provide the perfect base...you ready for a bit of manual labor Speedy...I'm going to look into something and then we can go ahead and set up our new base of operations."

"Our own little Arrow cave." Thea murmured.

 **. . .**

Oliver sat in front of his computer, a newspaper clipping in his hand - the name on the screen read 'Adam Hunt,' the revelation that Laurel was going after the man had caught his attention. And the man just so happened to be on the list. The man had robbed people of millions, destroying their bank accounts and their lives.

Maybe he could be the first scumbag that he and Thea put down.

A voice called out from the entrance to his room and he looked up to see Raisa standing there with a teasing smile on her face, "You are different." She strolled in carrying a tray of food, "Not like you to read a book."

He shot her a smile and placed the book front down on his desk, closing down the tabs he had open in his research on Adam Hunt. Leaning back in his chair he smiled, "I missed you Raisa."

She chuckled, "What? No kitchen on the Island?"

"No." He shook his head, "No friends either." He added, in a softer tone. When he was younger Raisa had been one of the few people to get to see the real him, not the spoilt playboy Oliver Queen but the boy who looked after his little sister and ran around the Mansion madly as he tried to do a million different things at once.

She had helped him mend the vase he had broken after he'd tried riding his bike inside of the Mansion for the first time.

And the three he had broken after that because it seemed he hadn't learnt his lesson after the first time.

He got up to take the tray from her, smiling at her with a grateful expression, "Thank you." He murmured as he took the tray from her and placed it down onto a small cabinet. "Do I really seem different?" Oliver questioned, his head tilted in curiosity.

He wanted to know if he needed to up his act, behave more like the old Ollie.

"No," She whispered softly, "Still a good boy."

"Oh, I think we both know I wasn't." He corrected with a smile, thinking back to when he had been in the media for his exploits and the times when he had ended up in court. There had been the time when he peed on a cop, punched a reporter, stolen a car and the time he'd swam naked in the fountain opposite the SCPD.

Raisa nodded her head in agreement, before steeping forwards and patting Oliver on the chest, "But a good heart."

"I hope so." Oliver murmured, "I want to be the person you always told me I could be." It was true, he wanted to be better than the man he was before, the spoilt rich kid that had smuggled his sister onto a Yatch that would go on to sink and to be better than the man who had learned to kill without remorse during the past five years.

He wanted to be the person that Thea, Tommy and his Mother deserved.

Now he was going to clean up his city, atone for his and his Father's sins.

 **. . .**

Thea was up somewhat bright and early the next day, she was actually looking forward to her day as she wasn't going to be forced into spending time inside of a therapist's office. It was time for herself and Oliver to set up their vigilante base of operations, they couldn't exactly keep storing their things inside of the Mansion.

Someone would happen upon their things eventually and she'd rather not answer those questions - she didn't know how to answer them and, as naive as it probably was, she wanted to keep the lying to a minimum.

Today was their chance to set everything up ready to start taking down Starling City's corrupt elite.

But it appeared that their Mother had other ideas, "Oliver! Thea!" Their Mother called out as they were leaving, she gestured towards a man standing behind her and Thea watched as her brother tensed "I want to introduce you to someone." She grabbed a hold of Ollie's hand and turned to a man standing behind her, "This is John Diggle...he'll be accompanying you both from now on."

Thea flinched and eyed him up nervously, they didn't need a babysitter to be watching them the entire time and it would place them at too big of a risk if a stranger followed them around constantly. How was the man meant to guard them both? Thea was pretty sure that she and her brother wouldn't constantly be around each other, she for one had to go to therapy.

"I don't need a babysitter." Oliver said, voicing her thoughts before she could. And her was right, they had survived on their own - fending for themselves for five years, some man that their mother had hired would be more of a hindrance than a help.

"Mom," Thea tried softly, "We'll be fine...we don't need someone to look after us...plus it wouldn't be practical...I don't intend on following Oliver around all day...everyday and I'm sure that he feels the same way...so unless the man can split himself in half I don't understand what this could do."

Walter appeared to feel sympathetic to Oliver and Thea's protests and he turned to his wife, "Darling...Oliver's a grown man and Thea is a young woman..if they feel as if they don't need armed protection-"

"Yes," Moira quickly cut him off, "But this is something I need." She looked at Oliver with a pleading expression silently begging him to concede and let Mr. Diggle accompany him, even if it was to only put her mind at rest.

She watched as her brother sighed and she knew that her Brother had caved, she couldn't blame him. After the hell they had accidentally put their Mother through, from smuggling Thea onto the boat and Oliver going on it - even though they hadn't and had no way of knowing, they still felt a sense of guilt about it.

Maybe letting her guy tag along would help dissuade that.

Even if they were more than likely going to end up ditching him at some-point or other.

 **. . .**

The factory was only a short walk from where he and Thea had ditched Diggle, he tossed his bags over the chainlink fence before climbing over it himself. Thea was quick behind him, he thought back to the younger version of Thea who used to climb trees as if she thought she was a monkey. How far they'd come.

The area around the factory had turned into slums, people were gathered around oil drum barrels and using them as bonfires in an attempt to get warm, the walls were covered in graffiti and the streets covered in trash.

He knew that the wasteland the glades had become was in part due to his Father and the closure of Factory, it had put thousands out of jobs and many of his rich friends had done the same.

It was no wonder that the Glades were as bad as they were.

He eyed up the old Queen Consolidated Factory with curiosity, unsure about how exactly it was he was going to turn it into a base of operations. He was lucky that no one had watched as he entered the factory, he didn't feel like answering the questions about why exactly it was he was sneaking off to spend his time in an abandoned factory.

He knew that Diggle had probably assumed he'd ran off to a bar or a strip-club or maybe just to go have meaningless sex with whatever pretty woman happened to catch his eye as he wandered the streets of Starling City.

It was what the old Oliver Queen would have done.

The inside of the factory was a dump, but he could work with it, papers were scattered around and he was pretty sure that there was a new kind of life growing in the pools of water that were dotted around the Warehouse.

He knelt down and picked up one of the discarded papers lying on the floor, it was a paper with his Father's face plastered on it. An old monthly report that he used to send out to all of the employees, he winced and tried to ignore the ache that he felt as he stared into his Father's features.

If he closed his eyes he could still picture that day on the life-raft.

He wished that he could forget it but he couldn't, so instead he was going to have to atone for the both of them.

And he hoped that his Father would be proud of what he was doing, what he was trying to do.

He hoped his Father was proud of both of them, himself and Thea.

 **. . .**

 **Adam Hunt...his crimes go deeper than fraud and theft, but he's been able to bully, bribe, or kill anyone who's gotten into his way. He hasn't met me yet.**

 **. . .**

Thea looked around at their makeshift base, Oliver had forged them some new arrowheads and made a computer workstation. Being the children of two billionaires had it's advantages, it meant that they could spend as much money as they needed on their equipment and no one would be any wiser.

She knew that they needed a cover story, for where they spent their nights. Oliver's would be easy, everyone still remembered his playboy persona that slept with a different woman every week and spent his nights frequenting nightclubs and drinking until the early hours of the morning.

But Thea Queen didn't have any kind of persona to fall back on, barring being Oliver's baby sister who was also stranded on an Island.

"So...tell me about him." She called out, "Who's our guy?"

Oliver gestured for her to come look at his computer screen, "Adam Hunt." Thea frowned at that, memories of news reports and Laurel coming to mind, Adam Hunt was the man that Laurel Lance was currently trying to take down. A CNRI Lawyer against one of the biggest guys that Starling City had to offer. "Stole millions from people...ruined their lives...and he just happens to be on our Father's list...anyone who's come close to exposing him or taking him down has died or magically retracted their statements."

"So the usual bribery, threats and murder then?" Thea commented, "Sounds like an all-around great guy."

"Which is exactly why we need to take him down." Oliver muttered, he got up from the desk "But for now we're going to give him a chance to right his own wrongs."

Thea chuckled dryly, "Let's go have a nice little sit-down with Adam Hunt."

"Suit up." Oliver called out as he grabbed his bow from the trunk they had kept it in.

Thea hurried over to the other side of the room where her bow was stored, she'd gotten it made for her in Russia. A lighter bow with a better drawstring, it was also red which suited her perfectly.

She twirled it about in her fingers slightly, letting a smile flicker across her lips - she had missed this.

 **. . .**

"So...tell me about him." She called out, "Who's our guy?"

Oliver gestured for her to come look at his computer screen, "Adam Hunt." Thea frowned at that, memories of news reports and Laurel coming to mind, Adam Hunt was the man that Laurel Lance was currently trying to take down. A CNRI Lawyer against one of the biggest guys that Starling City had to offer. "Stole millions from people...ruined their lives...and he just happens to be on our Father's list...anyone who's come close to exposing him or taking him down has died or magically retracted their statements."

"So the usual bribery, threats and murder then?" Thea commented, "Sounds like an all-around great guy."

"Which is exactly why we need to take him down." Oliver muttered, he got up from the desk "But for now we're going to give him a chance to right his own wrongs."

Thea chuckled dryly, "Let's go have a nice little chat with Adam Hunt."

"Suit up." Oliver called out as he grabbed his bow from the trunk they had kept it in.

Thea hurried over to the other side of the room where her bow was stored, she'd gotten it made for her in Russia. A lighter bow with a better drawstring, it was also red which suited her perfectly.

She twirled it about in her fingers slightly, letting a smile flicker across her lips - she had missed this.

. . .

Thea Queen stood in the shadows of one of Starling City's many parking garages, her red hood was firmly in place with her bow and mask to match. Her brother had insisted on using his greasepaint, probably as a tribute to Maseo, but she wasn't going to be doing the same, greasepaint didn't offer much in the way of a disguise and it was a bitch to get off in a hurry.

He claimed that masks got in his way when fighting and were a distraction that impaired his vision but she reasoned if he got used to fighting with a mask then it would be like a second skin - like their suit's.

Adam Hunt's voice rang out through the building as he spoke to the men around him, "You remind Grell that I put him on the bench and that I can take him off, I can turn him into a cautionary tale."

She looked over to where Oliver was waiting, she was going to cut the lights and provide an open window for him to take on the guards.

Then they'd both have a nice little chat with Hunt, "Yes, Mr. Hunt." The man muttered.

"And this attorney," Hunt continued as if the man hadn't spoken, "Laurel Lance...you said she wasn't going to be a problem...I told you to fix that situation." Adam Hunt came to a stop before looking expectantly at the man who had been walking alongside him, "Why are you still here?"

The man bowed his head slightly and ran off.

Thea drew back the bowstring, aiming it towards the light directly behind Hunt and his men. Letting out a deep breath she let go, watching as it flew towards the target and cut out the light. She nodded to herself at the distraction, it had worked perfectly, now she just needed Ollie to take care of Hunt's men.

Hunt was pushed into the car whilst his bodyguard fired shots over at where he thought the arrows had came from. Oliver chuckled, this guy was going to be no match for him.

"Hey!" He called out, he had deepened his voice, Thea had dubbed it his 'Vigilante' voice, "You missed."

It barely took him two minutes to deal with the man's bodyguard.

Thea jumped down from where she had been waiting and reached in and pulled Hunt out of where he had been hiding inside of his car. She tossed him towards where Oliver was standing and stood next to her brother.

They aimed their bows at him and watched as the man trembled and pleaded. He was meant to be a tough guy, someone people feared and yet here he was - a mess as he begged him not to shoot him. Thea frowned as she realised that she had been tougher than this guy at the age of thirteen - he was actually more of a mess than a teenage girl.

"P-Please...what do you want..What? What? Just tell me what you want!"

Oliver took a step closer to him, towering over the man, "You're gonna transfer $40 million into Starling City bank account 1141 by 10 P.M. tomorrow night" He ordered, he had to at least give the man a chance to right his own wrongs before he killed him.

"Or what?" Hunt challenged weakly. Thea barely supressed a scoff - was he seriously going to challenge the people with bows pointed at his heart and head?

"Or we're going to take it." Thea called out, miming shooting him with an arrow tauntingly, "And you won't like it if it comes to that."

She thought back to their days in Russia, when the Bratva essentially used them as hired thugs - go break this man's fingers because he's impeding on our business, go blackmail the competition, follow this man and find out his routine.

She supposed that's what they were now, only they were going after bad people rather than people who had crossed the Bratva.

Either way, Hunt's name needed to be crossed off of their list.

She and Oliver shared a look, he shot her an interceptable nod before walking off - shooting one last look at Hunt she followed behind him.

"If I see you again you're dead!" The man called after him, surprising how people magically seemed to gain courage as soon as there wasn't a bow pointed at them. She knew that she could spin round and kill the man without even trying, instead she fired a single shot into the car window, allowing that to serve as a distraction to let them get away.

Oliver wasn't the only one that could inspire fear when needed.

. . .

They returned back to their makeshift base, in their Father's factory, Oliver headed straight over to his desk and started typing away on his computer. Thea pulled down her hood and pulled off her mask, placing her bow back into it's box.

"Do you think he'll pay?" Thea questioned, unsure of why they didn't just make him pay then and there - it would have been more effective than hoping their threat of future violence would be enough.

Oliver shifted in his chair, the greasepaint still on his face and sweat on his brow, "I hope for his sake that he does...but if he doesn't then whatever happens to him is his own fault." He reached up and rubbed at his face, grimacing at the paint on his fingers.

"Having a bit of trouble?" She called out with a smirk, "That's what happens when you use paint instead of using a mask."

"Masks do more harm than good," Oliver retorted without missing a beat, he was used to having this debate with her, "They make you sweat more, stick into and dig into you and they impede on your vision so that you can't see everything you need to see during a fight...I'd rather have to deal with greasepaint than risk getting caught out in a fight."

Thea shook her head, "And when someone sees under your hood and finds out that the Vigilante is actually one of Starling City's most famous celebrities...Oliver Queen, you'll just what?" She tilted her head, "Go to prison for the rest of your life? Leave me alone here to rot?"

"That won't happen Thea." Oliver replied quietly, "And if it does then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Her brother's answer, unsurprisingly, did nothing to ease her anxiety. She understood that he liked to be in control and he liked to be hyper-aware of everything but she didn't feel like either of them getting spotted or arrested anytime soon.

They'd end up dead, trapped in a cell for the rest of their lives or stuck inside of a Psychiatric Facility forever.

Drumming her fingers against her leg she jumped up and hurried over to where her brother had set up a makeshift training area - they still had a bit of work to do.

She decided a bit of target practice was in order, and if she just so happened to imagine that those targets looked like her brother's stubborn face then that was just a strange coincidence.

Because she wasn't annoyed, not at all.

The knife landed in the dead center of it's target.

It was on her second throw that she realised what exactly tonight was, tonight was the date of her 'Welcome back from the dead!' party - courtesy of Tommy.

. . .

Thea Queen headed out of the Queen Mansion alongside her brother, both of them feeling alien in the clothes they were wearing for the party - Thea had gotten her Mother to help her pick out an outfit, she had promised her Mom that they'd go out and buy something but she'd gotten sidetracked. Luckily her Mother had a couple of dresses lying around for her anyways. Thea wasn't used to having to think about what people thought, preferring to wear whatever was comfortable and whatever she could fight in.

Hell, she had worn the same tatty red denim jacket for two years and it never crossed her mind that what she was wearing was't exactly the height of fashion. She had been too busy trying to survive, and now she was back she was finding it hard to shift from that mentality and worry about mundane things.

She opened the car door to find their bodyguard waiting for them, she had been wondering what had happened to him. Whether he had just spent hours roaming the city searching for them or whether he'd gone straight to their Mother and simply waited for them to reappear.

It appeared that Diggle had now gotten someone else to act as a driver, all to keep an eye on them, "Put on your seat-belts...wouldn't want either of you to miss your party."

She had half-expected him to comment on the fact that Oliver was taking his underage sister to a party that was more than likely going to be full of drink and drugs - maybe he just assumed she was going to be following in the steps of her brother.

Thea chuckled and was shocked to see a smile appear on her brother's face as he shook his head in disbelief and sat down next to him.

Maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all.

That didn't mean that she was going to stop ditching him, she was probably just going to start feeling guilty about it. She was feeling guilty about a lot of things these days.

. . .

The party was loud, much louder than she had expected. Although with Tommy Merlyn being the mastermind behind it he didn't really know why she had been expecting anything else, Tommy had been known for throwing the best parties in Starling City - where the alcohol never stopped coming and even the police couldn't shut them down.

And of course there were numerous scantily clad women dancing on poles, it seemed that he still operated under the belief that a party wasn't a party without a stripper or two.

Not that Thea had ever gotten to attend them, with the whole her being twelve at the time of her brother's tearaway party boy phase, this was her first party. If the parties the Bratva threw to cover for their various illegal operations didn't count.

She stood slightly behind her brother, her Mother had taken her dress shopping - after spending at least ten minutes arguing with her Brother about her even being in attendance but he had reasoned that she had been through a lot worse than a party and deserved a break. Plus they shouldn't create more suspicion when they were planning to disappear half way through, at least by attending they gave themselves an alibi.

Plus it was a party in both her and Ollie's honour, it seemed stupid to invite hundreds of people that they didn't know to celebrate the fact they had returned from a desert Island.

"57 minutes." Oliver muttered, taking care to keep his voice low - Thea had to strain to hear him over the loud pulsing of the music.

She nodded and followed him down the stairs, keeping a calm mask firmly in place. Everyone turned around to look at them as they made their way down the stairs, she watched as Tommy signaled for the DJ to cut the music.

"Everybody! Hey!" Tommy yelled, his voice echoing throughout the loft they had hired for the party, he raced up of the stairs and clapped Oliver on the chest "Man and Woman of the hour!" He gestured to them both and the crowd broke into cheers again.

Thea suppressed the flinch that threatened to ripple through her body, she was not used to so many people having eyes on her at once. She looked over at Oliver to see if he was feeling the same way as her but his playboy persona was firmly in place and she watched as he greeted the crowd with a smile and grinned at Tommy.

He was beaming from ear to ear and it was an unnerving expression to see on her usually stoic brother's face, especially since it was fake. His real smile was nothing like that.

"And ladies please! Let's give this man a proper homecoming!" Tommy called out as he guided them down the stairs and through the crowds, people reached out to clap them on the shoulder or back and she was proud of how she was keeping her instincts in check. As they were screaming for her to flip every single one of them and force them onto the ground.

She chuckled as 'We Are The Champions,' began to blare throughout the room, Tommy's choice in music hadn't appeared to have changed that much. She still remembered the days where he and Oliver would parade about the Mansion whilst drunk, singing at the top of their lungs - that had been one of their favorites.

Oliver made his way up onto a raised podium, "Thank you very much everybody!" He called out to the room. She stayed firmly besides Tommy and watched her brother and the crowd with interest.

He looked completely at ease, his arms spread out wide as he acknowledged the crowd - "Ollie! Ollie! Ollie!" Tommy called out to him and passed a shot to him.

He immediately downed it, pretending to feel the burn before grinning and yelling to the crowd "I missed Tequila!" Determined to keep up the pretense of the spoilt, rich, playboy he grinned and opened his arms to the crowd in a mock bow.

Thea was pretty sure that he should have taken Drama whilst he was in High School, or at one of his four former colleges. She chuckled, that shot was probably nothing compared to what Anatoly would serve him whilst they were in Russia.

That was all it took to get the music and the crowd going again.

 **. . .**

Thea was standing next to her brother at the bar, absently spinning an empty shot glass around on the table in front of her. Maybe if her mind wasn't currently on Adam Hunt then she'd be enjoying herself but as it was she was just counting down the minutes until his time ran out.

Diggle was watching her from the corner and she wondered what he thought of her, what assumptions he'd made about her and her brother and why he spent his time looking after spoilt rich kids. This couldn't have been the first party he'd been forced to attend, he was probably going to be deaf by the time he was fifty if this was how he had to spend his time.

She wondered about how she would have been if Oliver had left her behind, maybe she'd be into this kind of thing - getting drunk, getting high and drinking until the early hours of the morning. Maybe she would have been the next 'Oliver Queen' and alternating between being in the tabloids or handcuffs every other week.

"Hey! Does he wipe for you too?" Tommy's voice called out, bringing her back from her thoughts.

Oliver looked vaguely alarmed at the fact that Diggle had been watching them the entire time. Tommy used the grip he had around him to turn him around and point him in the direction of three women who were stood dancing on a podium.

"Now, it is by my rough estimate that you haven't had sex in about..1,839 days." He pointed towards the girls, "And as your wingman I highly recommend Carmen Golden."

"I really don't want to be hearing this.." Thea muttered, rolling her eyes.

Blankly Oliver stared at the three of them, "Which one is she?"

"The one who looks like that chick from twilight." Tommy called back earning an even more confused look from Oliver.

"What's Twilight?" Oliver questioned with his arms folded, squinting at the women.

She snorted, she wasn't surprised that Oliver didn't know what it was and quite frankly he was better off not knowing. In a fit of boredom she started reading the series whilst in Russia - when Oliver was infiltrating the Bratva she'd had a lot of time to kill and Tommy was right. The likeness was astounding, if slightly disturbing.

They both stared at the three women, "You're so better off not knowing." Tommy replied without taking his gaze off of them.

She frowned as Oliver's head jerked towards a figure in the distance, "I'll be right back." He muttered before hurrying off. Thea noticed Diggle's gaze flicker between her and where her brother was headed - she nodded at him and gestured towards Tommy.

That seemed to be enough for the man to straighten and hurry after her brother.

Tommy turned to her with an exasperated expression and she shrugged, "Guess a pretty girl must have caught his eye."

"Well he could have shared." Tommy muttered.

"I really didn't need that mental image, the headlines the morning after you did that the last time were enough for me." She mock-shuddered, thinking back to that day and how many 'interesting' conversations that had let to her having with both her brother and Mother as they tried to explain what exactly the article had been talking about. "You and Ollie corrupted me."

He chuckled, "We provided you with an education...if you hadn't...you know...then you would have been the next 'Billionaire tearaway." Tommy paused, seemingly conflicted "But I'm glad that you didn't turn out like me and Ollie...even if it was because of such horrible circumstances."

"You can say it..." She murmured, "What happened...it's not taboo or anything...I won't have a mental breakdown and cry if you mention the Gambit and that it sank." Tucking a bit of hair behind her ear she grabbed a glass and drank it, all in once, at Tommy's surprised look she shrugged "I need to try alcohol at some point right?"

She wasn't about to admit that she'd had plenty of it in the past year. The familiar burn eased the tension she was feeling ever so slightly, she wanted to be able to talk to Tommy and tell him everything - besides Oliver he was one of the few people she'd had that actually looked out for her when she was younger.

She had missed him.

Tommy smiled and shook his head, "Make sure you don't get drunk now Speedy, or make that nickname literal, Oliver would kill me if I let anything happen to you...and I will happily kill anyone who tries to deal to you."

"I won't...pinky swear." She teased, before pointing towards a group of girls in the distance who had been eyeing Tommy up for the past few minutes, "I think your adoring fans are waiting...better not keep them any longer, right?"

"Right." Tommy called out, smirking and waving at the women, "Yell if you need anything!" He yelled as he was leaving, she didn't acknowledge him with a response - he was already too far away to hear anything that she said.

 **. . .**

Meanwhile

"What's Twilight?" He didn't pay attention to his friend's reply as a familiar face in the crowd caught his attention, Laurel was currently making her way through the crowd and appeared to be headed straight for him.

"Back in a minute." He muttered as he ran over towards Laurel, surprised by the fact that she had shown up.

"Oh! Your here?" Oliver called out, accidentally phrasing that last part like a question but he couldn't help it. He had assumed the last place she would want to be would be anywhere near him.

"Tommy." She answered, "He made the point that we have too many years between us to leave the things the way we left them." Laurel looked around at the chaotic party scene around them and then frowned, "Is there someplace else we could go? Somewhere quieter?"

Oliver jerkily nodded his head, still too shocked to say anything apart from, "Yeah."

 **. . .**

The pair made their way to a quieter section of the building, Oliver was painfully aware that Hunt and therefore his deadline was running out. Laurel turned to him and seemed to be weighing up her words, "I'm sorry for saying that it should have been you that died...that was wrong."

Oliver shook his head, he didn't want to make her feel as if she had to forgive him, "If I could trade places with her I would." And his words rang true, if he could trade his place with any of his fallen friends he would do it, in a heartbeat.

She sighed and kept pausing before speaking, making Oliver tense up slightly in anticipation of whatever she was going to say next, "About Sara...there's been something I've been afraid to ask but I need to know."

"Okay." Oliver nodded, eyeing her up carefully.

"When she died, did she suffer?" Oliver froze, he could feel Laurel staring at him as she waited for the answered that could crush her and break her into a million pieces. He didn't know what to say, should he tell her that she made it for two years and then cruelly snatch it away or tell a white lie and tell her that Sara had drowned on the ship.

A small part of him wished she had instead of her having to go through the two years of hell that she had been forced to go through before she died on the Amazo. And then Sara's request, that if she didn't make it and he did - for him to tell them she died on the Gambit.

"No." He finally managed to breathe out and he made sure to keep eye contact with Laurel as he told her, carefully watching for her reaction.

Laurel nodded, seeming to process the information before speaking again, "I think about her everyday."

"Me, too." He answered honestly, there wasn't a day that went by without him thinking about Sara or Shado or Slade. Thinking about how he had lost them, thinking about Akio's death and his grief-stricken parents Maseo and Tatsu. Thinking about Taiana, how she decided to die rather than become a monster.

He carried their deaths with him every single day.

That seemed to resonate with Laurel, "I guess we have one thing in common then." She let out a shaky laugh as she ran a hand through her hair, "I can't believe I'm going to say this but if you need someone to talk about what happened to you or Thea needs someone to look out for her...I'm here."

Oliver was about to respond when the sound of his phone vibrating cut him off, he pulled out his phone and saw that it was now ten o'clock. It appeared that he now had an appointment he needed to get to with Adam Hunt.

Laurel must have noticed how his expression clouded over as her voice called out to him, full of concern "Is something wrong?"

"I asked somebody to do something for me, they didn't do it." Oliver closed his eyes, already hating himself for what he was about to do but if it saved Laurel in the long wrong then he was going to have to. This was for the best. He had to believe that. "Laurel..you always saw the best in me." And it was true, she had been one of the few good things in his life and yet he had still managed to ruin it, his voice became cold and almost mocking "Right now, that's what your doing, your looking at me and wondering if that Island changed me somehow."

And it did, it had changed him from a spoilt party-boy to a Monster.

Something that was barely human and didn't deserve to be viewed as such.

He ignored how hurt she looked how tears seemed to be building up in her eyes and how confused and upset she looked, she had just trusted him and tried to make amends. Hell she even offered to be a shoulder to cry on to the man who killed her sister.

She should hate him, he was just going to make it easier for her.

"It didn't." He muttered, his voice becoming deathly calm as he continued, as if he was telling someone the weather rather than crushing the woman he had once loved. Knowing that there was no going back, he continued "Stay away from me...otherwise I'm just going to hurt you again but this time it'll be worse."

Without leaving her a chance to do anything he plastered on a smile and gave her a wave, putting his persona back in place "Gotta roll! I've got five years of debauchery to catch up on!"

She didn't let him walk away, strolling right back up to him with her eyes full of anger she squared up to him, "You know what Oliver? You're wrong, that Island did change you." She let out a bitter laugh and shook her head, expression full of disgust and hatred, "At least now your honest."

He watched as she walked away without saying a word, he had never hated himself as much as he did in that moment.

Oliver hurried back towards the party and found Thea back where she had been when he had left, he placed his hand on her shoulder and leaned in so that only she could hear him - "Time's up." She immediately stood up and nodded at him.

They made their way towards the maintenance and staff corridors of the building, someone needed to make the man pay for what he had done, if Laurel couldn't do it in the courtroom then he'd do the courts jobs for them.

The city must really be failing apart if it took two former castaways to right it's wrongs.

As they made their way through the hallways, hoping that none of the staff would notice them and think anything of their sudden appearance there and disappearance from their party - A voice called out from behind them, a mixture between annoyed and amused, "Something I can help you with sir?"

They both sighed and spun around to see Diggle following behind them, non too happy about the fact that the two people he had been assigned to protect had ditched him yet again.

If the man didn't have a habit of showing up just when he needed to be alone Oliver might have been impressed by Diggle's ability to appear out of nowhere.

"We just wanted a second to ourselves." He replied with a forced smile.

He felt Thea nod beside him, "It was too loud in there...we'll be back in a minute or two Diggle."

Diggle shook his head and made his way towards him with his hands in his pockets, "I would believe you Mr. Queen if you weren't so full of crap." The man gestured towards where an entrance to the room where the party was being held, "I believe the parties this way."

Oliver chuckled and nodded to himself as Diggle called him out on his lies, he guessed he'd have to resort to Plan B. He walked towards the door and pretended to push on it, when the door didn't move he turned around to Diggle and shrugged, "It's locked."

When the man leaned forwards to check it out for himself Oliver chose that moment to strike, grabbing and placing the man into a choke hold. Leaving him immobilized and unconscious, when he was satisfied that his body guard would be alright and that there would be no permanent damage he placed him against the wall and hurried over to where he needed to be.

Thea looked at him as if she was deciding whether to thank him or scold him, she seemed to settle on something in the middle of that, "Did you just choke-hold our security guard? Isn't that going to raise the question of where and how you learned to choke-hold people? Why did you choke-hold him? We could have just ditched him in the crowd..Ollie!"

He shrugged and raised an eyebrow at her, a silent way for him to ask her what she'd been planning on doing.

They didn't have time to debate when Adam Hunt was waiting for them.

It would be rude of them to keep him waiting.

 **. . .**

Thea cut off the power in Hunt's building, she smirked as she imagined how people had probably started to run around like headless chickens just about now. Power-cuts were the perfect distractions, people were far too dependent on fighting in well lit areas that if you turned the lights off then they tended to be at a disadvantage.

And since she learned to fight on a deserted Island then in abandoned warehouses and a small Hong-Kong home then in ARGUS facilities and whatever run down place Anatoly was operating out of.

She hurried back towards the elevator where she and Oliver would be entering, the elevator had it's own generator and system - she cut the power that went to the lights but most of the building's other functions were still working.

Making sure her hood and mask were firmly in place she shared a look with Oliver before they got inside of the elevator. She checked that she had her knives, that she was ready to fire from her bow and that she remembered the plan.

Being inside the elevator was bringing back bad memories and so she was distracting herself with the case, with Adam Hunt and how they were going to take him down.

He really should have taken their option of paying back the money of his own free will.

"You fire out at the guards furthest away from the doors whilst I'll handle whoever is directly outside of the elevator." He ordered as he thought it through in his head.

She nodded and got ready to go, they were only two floors away from the top.

Where hunt and his men were going to be waiting.

The sound of the elevator arriving at Hunt's floor signaled that it was time for them to start, as soon as the door opened she fired off an arrow towards the man opposite the elevator - he fell to the ground before he could even get off a shot at them.

She turned her attention to scanning their surroundings and checking for anyone else she needed to take out, Oliver jerked into action as he attacked the men outside of the elevator. Using his bow as a weapon, Shado had taught him that - that people didn't expect a bow to be used as a hand to hand weapon, he took on the two guards nearest to him. Slamming the end into the man's arm and then jerking it backwards to take out the man who was about to attack him from behind.

Thea smirked as they went crashing to the ground, it appeared that five years of hell had taught them well, she grabbed the man who was approaching them and flipped him onto the ground - sending the two men who Oliver was fighting with onto the ground.

"I had them." He muttered as he raised his bow and readied himself for an attack.

She smirked, "I know...but why let you have all of the fun." And she had totally just saved him, even if he would never admit it.

"Focus." He grit out as they advanced on Hunt's office.

A man appeared from the wings with a machine gun raised towards them, they simultaneously threw a knife and a bow respectively towards the man.

Oliver jumped up at the wall and used the momentum from jumping off of the wall to grab the man's neck and twisted it around. Thea grabbed man's body before he hit the ground and used it to shielded herself from the bullets that had been fired towards her - Oliver had dived behind a column.

She supposed his trick from the warehouse really had come in handy.

He jumped and grabbed his bow from the ground but another gunman came out of the shadows, Oliver jumped forwards towards the man, wrestling the gun off of him and sending him hurtling towards the glass.

A part of her felt sorry for the man, she completely understood why Oliver had done it - everyone inside of that room would be acting purely on instinct and would have fired on them straight away as soon they entered the room.

Either way that guy was certainly dead now.

They waited until the sound of gunfire ended and headed towards the hole where the glass had been shattered, he pulled back his bow and fired an arrow at the man who had been shooting a couple of seconds before.

Thea shot an arrow towards one of the gunmen who had been about to fire at them.

Oliver used his spare hand to punch the man off to the side he watched as he fell down to the ground, he scanned the room for any more threats. Thea let off a warning shot and fired behind Hunt, at least she hoped that was what he'd view it as - they'd worked for a long time on that arrow and if he moved it from where it was then they'd never get their money.

"You missed." Hunt taunted, in an attempt to hide his fear.

"Really?" Oliver questioned dryly, his bow pointed in the direction of the man's face. All he had to do was let go and the man would end up with an arrow through his eye.

He wouldn't be able to hurt anyone then.

Movement from besides him caught them both by surprise and they ducked as a figure jumped out and grabbed the end of Oliver's bow. Oliver and Thea cursed the fact that they hadn't noticed the man's presence and fought against the newcomer in the fight.

He blocked and deflected the man's punches, ignoring how the one's that he failed to defend himself from send waves of pain through his body.

He could block it out long enough to fight.

Movement from besides him caught him by surprise and he ducked as two figures jumped out and one of them jerked towards him and grabbed the end of his bow. Oliver cursed the fact that he hadn't noticed the man's presence and fought against the newcomer in the fight.

He blocked and deflected the man's punches, ignoring how the one's that he failed to defend himself from send waves of pain through his body.

He could block it out long enough to fight.

He wasn't about to let Hunt get away.

Vaguely he could hear Hunt talking to someone as he ran out of the room, "He's here!" And a part of him was aware of Thea fighting another guard behind them.

Adrenaline coursing through him he sent the man over his shoulder and crashing into a coffee table behind him, the man tried to get himself on top of Oliver in attempt to choke him or pull down his hood.

Oliver used his legs to get the man into a choke hold, he watched as the man gasped desperately for air, trying to pry Oliver's legs off from around his neck.

The man used his body as leverage and swung himself to the side, escaping Oliver's grip.

As he tried to make a break for it Oliver jumped up and chased after him, using a roundhouse kick to send his foot flying into the man's face.

He stumbled and went crashing into a vase, the man pulled out a knife and Oliver jerked back into action.

Knives meant all or nothing, hand to hand was one thing but weapons were another.

Pulling his own knife from out of it's sheath he jerked forwards towards the man, pulling at his hand and trying to wrestle it out of his opponents grip. He heard the satisfying sound of the man's fingers breaking as he pulled his fingers backwards.

Using the fact that the man faltered to his advantage he jerked his knee into his groin and pushed the man toward's the ground.

He thought that he had gained the upper hand when he realised just what he had pushed his opponent towards, he jerked backwards as the man went for the machine gun. Desperately trying to avoid the spray of bullets that were making their way towards him.

Grabbing an arrow from his sleeve he threw in towards the man as he jumped towards the opposite end of the room, he hit the ground as he landed and felt himself be claimed by the darkness.

Unconsciousness taking hold no matter how much he tried to fight it.

Oblivious to the police force that were making their way towards him.

 **. . .**

Meanwhile

Thea spun around as the two men emerged from the shadows, she silently cursed the fact that they hadn't noticed them. She let Oliver go for the larger one and went for the other man, spining around and the gun out of his hand to stop him shooting her brother.

The man pushed her towards the wall and she let out a grunt of pain as she was sent crashing into it, that was going to leave a hell of a lot of bruises, pulling herself back up she grabbed her bow and lunged towards him. He didn't have a gun but a glint of metal told her that he had a knife, she gripped her bow in her hand spun it so that it hit him in the face.

She kicked him in the shin and slammed her bow into his back, using that momentum to knock him onto the ground. He let out a grunt of pain and she winced and cried out slightly as he jerked his head up into her stomach.

The man used that to push himself up from the ground and bolt towards where Oliver was currently fighting another man. She could vaguely hear Hunt calling out to someone from his office and she frowned as footsteps echoed through the building - backup.

Crap, things were about to get more complicated.

She used her bow to fire off a shot towards the man as he tried to run away, it pierced through his shin and he stumbled. She used that stumble to catch up to him and knock him back onto the ground, copying one of her brother's usual moves she hit the man on the head with a bow and knocked him out.

His eyes rolled back and he fell into the abyss.

She let out a satisfied noise before turning her attention back towards Oliver where he was currently fighting the other man, the sound of bullets echoing through the room caused her to fire off an arrow towards her brother's attacker before jumping down to avoid the bullets. She cried out as he went crashing into the wall and she watched as he fell unconscious.

Making sure to stay low she hurried over to him, "Wake up...crap...crap.." She muttered to herself as she tried to wake him up, lightly slapping his cheek.

The sound of footsteps and voices caught her attention, reluctantly tearing herself away from her brother she shot off a couple of arrows towards them in an attempt to stop them from getting too close to them. She couldn't risk them getting caught whilst Ollie was unconscious.

 **. . .**

He felt himself jerk awake and let out a pained grunt as he rolled onto his front and made his way towards his bow. He couldn't risk blacking out again, if he did that he would either end up dead or behind bars for the rest of his life.

Ignoring the pain shooting through his body from where a bullet had managed to graze him he grabbed his bow and ducked for cover, the sound of the police's footsteps could be heard loud and clear.

They were nearly upon them.

He looked up to see Thea shooting off arrows towards the man approaching them, groggily he grabbed the bow and shot the man before shooting a couple of arrows towards them before making a desperate dash towards the window, sending himself flying out of the window. He used his bow as a way to cling onto the zipwire he had created before, he had shot an arrow from the roof of the building of the party as a last ditch escape route.

Thea smirked and was pretty proud of her foresight, the zipline had been her idea - Oliver's idea had been to scale the building or just fight their way out. She quickly fired an arrow towards the nearest officer before copying her brother and going down the wire.

They flew down the line, leaving two very confused detective's in their wake.

 **. . .**

Oliver rushed through the building as he took off his Hood disguise, he knew that the first place the Detectives would go would be to the party and he couldn't risk being noticeably absent. Not with the way Detective Lance already being suspicious of him.

Thea hurried alongside him, pulling off her mask and disguise to reveal what she had been wearing before. Sighing she decided that flats would have to do as she'd forgotten to stash her heels on the roof.

He made it back in time to see Detective Lance talking to Tommy, he clenched his fists as he overheard the last part of their exchange, "Did you roofie anybody special tonight?"

He tensed at that, even in their younger days that was a line that Tommy would never have crossed. Oliver couldn't say anything about himself but Tommy was better than that, Tommy had always been better than that.

"Detective!" He called out with forced cheer, "It's a private party."

Lance scowled at him, his anger increasing by the second, "Yeah? There was an attack at Adam Hunt's building...you know anything about that?"

He chose to feign ignorance, shaking his head and shooting a confused look at Tommy, "Who's Adam Hunt?"

"He's a millionaire bottom feeder," Lance replied with venom, "I'm kind of surprised that you two aren't friends."

Thea chose that point to cut in and shrugged, "We've been out of town for a while."

"Yeah." Detective Lance looked at Oliver with an accusing expression, "Well, he just got attacked by the guy with the hood, the guy that saved your ass the other day."

"The hood guy." Oliver asked with raised eyebrows, he shot the Detective a shiteating grin and stood up on the platform to address the crowd, "You didn't find him? I'm gonna offer a reward." He raised his voice, "Hey, everybody! $2 million to anybody that can find a nut bar in a green hood!"

His playboy persona earned him a disgusted look from Lance, "Did you even try to save her?"

Detective Hilton shook his head, wanting to stop the situation before it went any further, "Sara wouldn't want this." He reminded his partner in a low tone.

"It's not-" Lance protested but Hilton cut him off.

"It's alright." He gently guided Lance away from Merlyn and Queen, "It's alright...let's go."

Oliver tensed under his friend's scrutiny before grinning and calling out to the crowd, "It's too quiet in here! This is a party!" He jumped down from the podium as the crowd cheered and the music came back on.

"Some coincidence," Tommy joked although Oliver could see the suspicion behind it, "I mean, you asking to have your party here, and Hunt getting robbed right next door and by the same guy who rescued us at the warehouse."

Not in the mood to deal with his friends' questions he patted him on the back, "If I were you I would just be glad you were alive."

Tommy looked up at him with a confused expression, the change in his friend's tone caused him shake his head at Oliver "What happened to you on that island?"

With a deadly seriously expression he met his friend's inquiring gaze, "A lot."

A hell of a lot.

He put his hands into his pockets and walked away, not looking back at the hurt and confused expression on his best friend's face.

Thea shot Tommy an apologetic look, "I'm sorry...I guess he isn't in the mood for a party Tommy...I'll see you at the Mansion alright?" She wished she could tell Tommy everything but he'd probably hate her, hate her for what she had done on the Island and what she had been doing ever since. She wasn't as cold as Ollie but that didn't mean much, she was still a Monster - she could just hide it behind a smile and a sense of humor.

Sighing she hurried after her brother, at least they'd gotten the money for Hunt's victims.

 **. . .**

Whilst he made his way back to the lair he could practically hear Adam Hunt's screaming and confusion from the factory. He knew that the slightly discrepancy in the man's bank account would have probably been noticed by now.

When he got back he watched the bank transfer happen on the screen, he was probably going to let Thea handle the tech stuff in the future - she was better at it than him.

And as much as he hated it he knew that the Hunt job would have been a hell of a lot smoother if he'd brought Thea along.

The money was being transferred to Hunt's victims, $50,000 each. He wished it could be more but Hunt's list of victims was so long that even $40,000,000 didn't stretch that far.

Oliver stared into the paper booklet he had salvaged whilst cleaning up the warehouse, his Father's face was staring back at him. Oliver could only hope that he was doing the right thing, that his Dad would have wanted him to do this.

To save the city.

Sighing he looked down at the notebook and crossed a name off of the list, one down - hundreds to go.

"Thought I'd find you here," He looked up to see Thea approaching him, "Hoped you might have gone to the Mansion...Mom's probably waiting for us."

"I'll be there in a bit Thea." He murmured, eyes fixed on the notebook.

"We did it, Hunt's victims got their money and we didn't even have to kill the guy." She tried again, "I'd call that a win Ollie."

 **...**

Thea sat cross legged on her bed, she had gone back to the Mansion in the hopes that Oliver would be joining her soon but he hadn't been. She assumed he'd decided to stay in the lair and finish up their business with Hunt back in the lair, she'd covered for him and told their Mom that he'd gone with some girl. She hadn't been surprised at that.

A knock at the door caught her attention, she looked up to see Tommy Merlyn hovering in the doorway with a paper bag in his hand. "Tommy?" She questioned, "What's up?"

"Well...I was thinking...I have five years of movie nights to catch up on..you've missed the last three Harry Potter movies...and so that got me wondering," He smiled and pulled out two bags of popcorn, "Sweet or salty Speedy?"

"Sweet," Thea chuckled as she caught the bag, "I thought there was only two left...did they write another book or something?"

"Nope," He replied as he sat down next to her on the bed, "They split the last one into two movies...money making and all that." Tommy grinned at her, "So...what do you say? I've got the movies ready all you have to do is say the word Speedy."

"Don't call me that." She murmured, lightly shoving him.

Tommy rolled his eyes and put on the movie, "I'll have you know I missed out on _two_ beautiful models for this...I think that earns me the right to call you Speedy."

Sighing she shuffled to get into a more comfortable position as Tommy put the movie on, she let out a content sigh as she got ready to watch the movie and she felt normal for the first time in a long time. She had missed Tommy and she had missed being normal.

It was a nice feeling, she just hoped that Oliver would get to feel it too.

For now she could forget about the Mission and the hell they'd been through and just enjoy some stupid movie.

 **...**

 **A/N -** Hopefully that's better.


	4. Honor Thy Father

**|Ghosts That We Knew|**

 **Honor Thy Father**

 **A/N -** Happier with this chapter compared to the pilot, also had to write 2/3's of this with a cat on my arm (Got a kitten and she likes to sleep on me and my laptop at the worst possible times.)

I wrote the present day parts before the flashbacks hence the later than intended update and because when I wrote it I saved it then shut down my laptop which deleted all of the text (Annoying and my computer doesn't let me recover the file which is annoying, I had been up to the 'final' confrontation with Somers and it deleted it back to the point of their first one. So that was annoying as I had to rewrite most of the chapter and it took me longer as I had to try and get it back.)

Also is it a week inbetween episodes or are all the timings different for each episode?

* * *

 **. . .**

Emerging from the shadows Oliver listened to the confused and panicked voices of Marcus Redmond and his guards, "Who's that?" He quickly made his way towards that guard and fired an arrow towards the man chest - he fell to the ground, dead by the time he hit it.

"Where'd he come from?" Another voice called out as he started to fire his gun towards him.

He jumped to the right to avoid the bullets and took out another guard.

Marcus started to flee, "Get the chopper back now!"

The Hood hurried after Marcus Redmond, the man had stolen money from some of Starling City's most vulnerable. He fired off an arrow towards one of the guards and lunged towards another one, using his bow to knock the man unconscious - movement behind him caused him to fire off another arrow towards a guard that had been about to tackle him.

He surveyed the roof again, checking for any possible threats. It seemed that it was just him and Marcus now, he quickly jumped down from where he was onto the lower roof. He walked over to the crumpled mess that was Marcus and grabbed his arm. Slamming him into an air conditioning unit with a thud.

Using his weight and bow combined to pin the man against the unit he used his free hand to press the man's skull towards the fan - the man cried out desperately as the fans threatened to tear at his face, "No! No! Please...please no!"

He hated the satisfaction that washed through him as he heard the man's cries, "Marcus Redmond...you have failed this city."

"Please! Please...no!" The man continued to beg, weakly trying to escape the vigilante's grasp and push his head away from the fan. "Please don't hurt me! Please!"

"Cell phone," He ordered, "Inside pocket...call your partner...tell him to give those pensioners back their money."

Marcus struggled weakly, "No! Please don'!"

Oliver bristled at that, he was giving the man a chance to walk away unharmed and instead he kept begging, "Do it now."

"Okay..okay!" The man called out, making a show of reaching towards his phone.

He stepped away from the man, if the man didn't follow through with what he had ordered him to do then he was going to pay the man a second visit. And unlike this one he wasn't going to walk away unharmed. Silently he jumped down from the lower room and disappeared into the darkness - leaving a terrified Marcus Redmond behind him.

 **. . .**

Oliver shot her an amused look as he sat down on the leather chair in front of the television, the Hood was currently on the News alongside a sketch of him and Thea's alter egos. Apparently the Hood had coerced a confession out of another criminal, she smirked at Oliver knowingly. She knew that he'd been out last night but as it wasn't a big job she'd let him go it alone, if he went after a heavy hitter then she'd definitely have had some choice words about it.

"This guy gets more airtime than the Kardashians, right?" He was more dressed up than she had seen him before, ready for their court hearing. She was too and it felt strange, her Mom had insisited that she wear a skirt which was making her feel all kinds of exposed - plus it was harder to hide a knife whilst wearing a skirt compared to jeans.

Thea snorted and shook her head at her brother's comment, "And of course you know who they are."

"Five years on an Island and somehow he didn't forget." Tommy called out with a smirk, "Glad to see you can't forget a pretty face."

"Well it's nice to see how much our culture has improved since we've been away." Oliver called out dryly.

Moira shook her head at the news, Thea winced at the way she was looking at the sketches of herself and Oliver - not that her Mom was aware that it was her children behind the masks, "The city used to be different...people used to feel safer.."

"What's the matter Mom?" Thea questioned, "Afraid we'll be next, you've just got us back...we aren't going anywhere."

Thea looked up and smiled at Walter as he entered the room, "Do either of you have any questions about today? It's just a simple court hearing...a proof of life declaration." He assured them as he straightened his jacket and dusted off some specs of dust from his suit.

"And that's it?" Thea questioned, unlike her brother she hadn't exactly been in a courtroom before.

Walter nodded, "Oliver will read out a brief, prepared statement to the judge, and then your death's-in-absentia judgment will be voided."

"It's fine Walter." Oliver muttered, "I've been in a courtroom before." He traded a conspiratal smirk with Tommy at his statement which caused their Mom to shake her head ruefully.

"Four times!" Tommy called out, "By my estimate at least." Smirking he began to rattle off the apperances and count them on his fingers, "You know, there was the DUI, the assault on that paparazzi douchebag, stealing that taxi, which was just awesome, by the way, and who could forget peeing on the cop?"

"I wish everyone would forget about that incident." Moira murmured, she had had to pay off many people to deal with that paticular incident.

Tommy chuckled, "I still don't get why you couldn't just pee in the alley like a normal person."

"Or better yet wait until you actually got home." Thea added, her brother had certianly been a different person then.

Walter turned his attention to Tommy, "You don't have to accompany us if you don't want to Tommy, if you have other plans that's perfectly fine." He offered.

Tommy clapped Oliver and Thea on the back, "My best friend who's basically my brother and the girl who's basically my baby sister are about to get legally ressurected." He grinned, "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Right." Oliver muttered before turning to face Thea with his playboy smile in place, "Ready to get ressurected?"

Biting her lip slightly she nodded in affirmation, smiling at her Mother when she placed a hand on Thea's back - "I guess so."

"Mrs Queen?" Diggle's voice called out, "The car's ready"

Quickly fixing her hair in the reflection of the window Thea straightened up and followed her family outside.

 **. . .**

Vultures, the lot of them. Thea shook her head in distain at the mob of reporters that had gathered outside of the building, all clamouring to get a look at the two former castaways. She wondered if that was how all the celebrities and socialites that she used to obsess over felt whenever they had been followed by the paparazzi because for her she had only run into them a couple of times and she already hated them.

It wasn't a shock to her that Oliver had ended up punching one of them.

She wasn't sure how she was meant to suppress the urge to stab them.

"Stay close to me Miss Queen, Mister Queen." Diggle said as he eyed the mob warily, she nodded at him and looked at her Mom, Walter and Tommy who all smiled at her in reassurance.

As soon as she and Oliver stepped out of the car the press surged forwards, microphones and cameras being shoved in their faces. She moved closer to Oliver and allowed him to shield her whilst Diggle covered him from the front.

Tommy, Mom and Walter were at their rear.

She forced herself to stay calm as every fibre of her being wanted to attack the people around her, it was too busy, too claustraphobic for her. Oliver squeezed her arm in an attempt to comfort her but Thea could tell he was struggling too.

"Mr. Queen, can we get a comment, sir?"

"Miss Queen! Miss Queen! What does it feel like to have spent your childhood on an Island?"

"...return to civilisation after five years!"

"-can we get a comment!?"

She looked up to see Oliver fighting to keep himself in control, his expression kept tightening. She saw his fingers twitch, a nervous tic he had developed over the years where he'd reach out for his bow.

"Mr Queen!"

"Tell us about the accident!"

They wouldn't even let them get past, the press forming a human blockcade around them. She grunted slightly as she, Diggle and Oliver pushed their way through.

"Miss Queen!"

"-Five years on an Island!"

The voices all merged and blurred together and she allowed Diggle and her family to guide her and Oliver through the crowd. She briefly looked back to see the disgust on her Mother and Walter's face and the barely suppressed anger on Tommy's.

When they finally arrived inside she leaned against a pillar and took a deep breath, momentarily closing her eyes in an attempt to aliviate the tension and ignore the adrenaline surging through her body.

"You alright?" She opened her eyes to see Tommy looking at her with concern.

Slowly she nodded, "Yeah...I am.." sighing she faced the rest of her family and shot them all a small smile "Let's get this over with."

 **. . .**

Thea Queen stood alongside her brother in the courtroom facing the judge with a carefully blank expression, to her chagrin they both had to make the statement as it was the both of them that were being ressurected.

Their laywer, a friend of their Mother's, was sat next to them whilst her family waited in the stands.

"There was a storm," Thea began, they had agreed that she'd talk about that and let Oliver address the Island and their time on it, "And the boat capsized, the Gambit sank, Oliver pulled me into a liferaft and we were the only survivors."

She hesitated before speaking again, "Our Father didn't make it...I thought that we wouldn't either."

"We spent so many days drifting before we found that Island," Oliver continued giving Thea a small nod in a silent attempt at praise, she recognised his blank expression and tone and realised that he was probably on autopilot as of now. "When I reached it I knew that we'd have to live for him...survive...and that I was going to make sure that I brought Thea home...for him."

Clenching his fists he brought up his gaze to meet the one of the judge's, "For five years that single thought was what kept me going."

The Lawyer looked at her emotionally drained charges and took that as her cue to stand up, "Your honour we move to Your Honor, we move to vitiate the death-in-absentia's filed after Oliver and Thea's disappearance at sea aboard the Queen's Gamut five years ago." She paused tactfully, "Unfortunately we will not be requesting that the declaration of death filed for the petitioner's father, Robert Queen, be rescinded. It appears the Queen family isn't entitled to that miracle I'm afraid."

The Judge nodded at the Lawyer.

Thea turned to look at her family behind her, her Mother looked pale and teary eyed and Thea wondered if their statements had really affected her that much - Walter had helped Oliver write it afterall.

Tommy looked more serious than she had ever seen him, his eyes looked misty and she wondered if he was about to cry. That sent a jolt through her as she realised the last time he had cried was his Mother's funeral. That alarming realisation reminded her that their five years in Hell hadn't been sunshine and rainbows for those they had left behind.

Sighing she looked over at Oliver, he looked as blank and stony as ever but she knew that the hearing would have been hard on him. That reliving their Father's death couldn't have been easy for either of them.

 **. . .**

Thea made her way out of the courtroom behind Tommy and Oliver, "Now, onto the offices. Everyone is waiting to meet you there." Their Mother said to Oliver with a smile, the previous week he'd told her that he wanted to get back to the offices and the company, which had surprised everyone who overheard.

"Uh," Oliver began, "Mom that was a little bit heavier than I was expecting it to be...could we do that tomorrow, please?"

Their Mother's expression morphed to one of sympathy as she and Walter exchanged glances, a silent conversation passing between the two of them, "Of course." Oliver shot them both a grateful smile as they walked off.

"Last week you couldn't wait to get to the company?" Tommy questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Tommy, I'd just spent five years away from civilization." Oliver reminded him, "I wasn't exactly thinking straight." The trio made their way down the staircase and Thea looked around curiously, this was her first time in a courthouse and she could admit that the building looked impressive, nicer than she'd expected.

She was jerked out of her thoughts when Tommy and Oliver came to an abrupt halt, "I-Hi." Her brother managed to stammer out and Tommy faintly echoed it.

Deciding that the tension was a bit too much Thea chose that moment to chime in, "Hey Laurel." She called out with a small wave, hoping that Laurel's hatred didn't extend to her.

Laurel's expression softened slightly and she gave Thea a small thin smile, "Hi Thea." Turning her attention back to Oliver she folded her arms across her chest, "What are you doing here?" She asked cooly.

"Being brought back from the dead-" Oliver winced and Thea raised an eyebrow at the fact her brother's speech seemed to fail him. "Legally speaking of course, the whole death in absentia thing."

Before he could dig himself into an even bigger grave she shot her a curious look, "What are you doing here?"

"My job." Laurel explained, "I assumed Oliver would have told you...I work at CNRI...legal aid."

"She basically does the DA's job." A girl behind her added with a grin.

Oliver looked at the nervous girl behind Laurel and extended a hand out to her, Hi.."Oliver Queen." He introduced and waited for her to introduce herself.

Hesitantly she took the offered hand, "Emily Nocenti."

Laurel watched the exchange with an unimpressed expression, "Oliver here just got back from a deserted Island...Before that, he was cheating on me with my sister. He was with her when she died." Emily's eyes widened at that, "And last week, he told me to stay away from him." Thea frowned at her brother, not remembering him having mentioned that "It was really good advice."

"It was nice seeing you again Thea, Tommy." She gave them both a small nod before pushing past them, "Excuse me."

Emily hovered for a second smiling nervously at Oliver, "It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, let's go." Laurel's friend muttered and she and Emily moved away from the trio and after Laurel.

Tommy let out a short breath before clapping Oliver on the back, "Come on, buddy, shake it off." He nodded at Thea, "Let's go."

Hesitating Thea looked off towards where Laurel was and called out to Tommy, "I think I'll stick around here."

Oliver shot her a questioning look but didn't otherwise say anything whilst Tommy just nodded.

"Laurel!" Thea called out as she hurried towards Laurel and up towards the stairs, "Hey! Sorry...I was just wondering if I could sit in and watch you in action? I haven't gotten a chance to actually see you yet."

Laurel tilted her head in curiosity at Thea before finally nodding, "Sure...the public gallery is over there, alright?" Thea nodded in understanding, "And for the record I don't blame you, if you want to talk or drop by sometime I'm fine with that Thea." And it was true, Laurel had missed Thea - like Tommy the girl had been like a younger sibling to her.

Murmuring her thanks Thea hurried towards where Laurel had pointed to and made her way into the gallery.

 **. . .**

Thea was impressed, as she watched Laurel maintain control in the courtroom. It was strange seeing what the girl who had taught her to do hair and makeup and had helped her study for tests had become.

"How much is a life worth?" Laurel spoke addressing the jury, "A life of a man, a good man, a stevedore on the docks of the city in which we live. "

Thea noticed that Emily was sat in the court, she realised that she must be Laurel's client. And she winced in sympathy at Laurel's next words, "A Father." She knew what it was like to lose a Father.

"A man with a daughter." Laurel added, Thea assumed she was trying to humanise the victim, "The plaintiff will prove by a preponderance of evidence that Victor Nocenti learned that his boss, that man sitting right there, Martin Somers, was taking bribes from the Chinese Triads to smuggle drugs into our city."

Her eyes widened at the mention of the Triad, her last encounter with them hadn't exactly been a pleasant one. She, Tatsu and Akio had been attacked in the Yamishiro's home and then they had been forced to go to Starling in an attempt to apprehend one of their members.

Maybe she and Oliver would have to pay the man a visit later, judgying by the type of man Somers was - a vampire who drained Starling City for money - he was probably on the list.

"And when Victor Nocenti threatened to tell the police," Laurel paused, "He had him killed." Thea noticed Emily's flinch at that.

"Mr. Somers is very well-connected, and has friends in the District Attorney's office." Thea wasn't surprised, crime pays and when crime pays it allows people to pay off the people who would be arresting them. "Which is why, if Emily Nocenti is to get justice for her father's death, if Martin Somers is to get justice for his crimes, then someone is going to have to do it for them."

Thea nodded her head in agreement, someone was going to get justice for Emily - one way or another.

When the court adjourned she changed her plans, she had intended to spend some time with Laurel afterwards and see how she was doing - a part of her still felt guilty about Sara's death, Oliver kept telling her that it wasn't her fault but she disagreed.

Sara would still be alive if it wasn't for her and so the least she could do was try and be there for Laurel. Plus she had missed the elder Lance sister whilst she'd been away.

Making her way towards a more private exit she tried to work out the fastest way to get to the old factory from where she was.

 **. . .**

Thea walked into the steel factory and then into their makeshift base and was greeted by the sight of her brother climbing a rope, shirtless, she paused momentarily at the sight of all of his scars - she knew about all of them and yet the sight of them still caused her to pause and freeze.

It was a reminder of the hell he'd been through.

"Martin Somers!" Thea called out, "I think we need to pay him a visit."

Oliver droped down from where he had been and landed on the ground with a heavy thud, she tossed him a towel from the chest she had filled with basic things they may need, he caught it silently - practically pulling it from the air and dabbing at the sweat dripping from him. He made his way over to his desk and skimmed through the list. "He's on it." Oliver muttered before turning his attention back to her.

"Laurel's going after him," As she watched her brother stiffen slightly at the name she rolled her eyes, "If he's as bad as that court case painted him then the court's aren't going to go after him on their own."

"We need to give them a helping hand." Oliver murmured as he thought about what Thea was saying. She gave him a bit to browse the internet and research Somers, whilst he was doing it she checked on their weapons.

"The city's police and the D.A. can't stop him, or won't." Thea let out a harsh laugh at the city's idea of justice, "Laurel thinks she's the only one willing to bring him to justice. She's wrong."

Oliver nodded in agreement and moved towards her, "Then let's prove it." He grabbed his equipment and gestured for her to follow, "It'll be dark out soon...then we can strike."

 **. . .**

Thea Queen, decked out in her vigilante gear, stood in the shadows of Somers Warehouse. Once again she was providing the distraction whilst her brother took out the guards, she didn't mind as long as she got a chance to go for the big guy.

To go for Somers.

"You, listen up." Somers pointed towards his goons,"The longer this goes on, the more likely the media is gonna crucify me. You shut this trial down, do you understand me?"

Her fingers twitched as they reached for her bow, she knew what he meant by 'shut this trial down' it meant he was planning on taking out either Nocenti or Laurel. She fought to stop herself firing an arrow at him, she could probably get it right between the eyes.

But he deserved a chance to right his wrongs, earn his chance at redemption. She and Oliver had gotten their chance and she was fairly certain that their sins were worse than most.

She cut the lights, it was simple enough - Waller had taught her how to do it in Hong Kong, they flashed on and off and she watched as the guards fell one by one.

The grunts of the guards and Somers echos of confusion as his men fell down beside him echoed throughout the warehouse. He looked in horror at his fallen men, "Oh god...oh god.." He muttered to himself as he realised what exactly had just happened.

His head swiveled around wildly as he tried to work out what was going on.

She jumped down and aimed an arrow at his chest, "No...no...no!" He muttered and whilst his attention was on her he failed to notice her brother emerging from the shadows and wrapping a rope around the man's neck.

"You can be the one to carry him." She called out with a smirk once she was sure he was unconcious, Oliver merely grunted in response as he threw the man over his shoulder.

Thea chuckled, "I saw somewhere on the roof where we can hang him, let him swing a little while in the breeze." There had been scaffolding and rafters on the roof, plenty of space to string Somers up and leave him out to dry.

. . .

Thea Queen stood in front of an upside-down Martin Somers, he was swinging in the breeze and she chuckled at the sight. She watched as he slowly regained conciseness and his arms jerked and flailed as he tried to work out what had happened.

"Martin Somers-" Her brother began, his voice-modulator turning his voice into a disguised snarl.

"Who the hell are you?" He called out in what was meant to be a threatening tone, she might have been intimidated if he wasn't currently hanging upside down.

"-You've failed this city." The Hood notched an arrow causing Somers to cry out in alarm and sent it flying towards Somers purposefully missing. She watched as it lodged itself in a beam.

"You're gonna testify in that trial." Her brother growled, "You're gonna confess to having Victor Nocenti killed."

Thea chose that moment to chime in, her own voice-modulator turned on, "There won't be a second warning." She frowned as she thought about the pensioners and notched an arrow in her bow, sending it flying towards him he cried out and she watched with a sense of satisfaction as it skimmed across his cheek and left a red cut behind.

The man started to cry out in pain and she rolled her eyes at him, using it as a distraction for her and her brother to exit.

 **. . .**

Thea winced as her Mother's voice rang out through the Mansion as they entered it, her brother had given her a ride on the back of his bike and idly she'd wondered if Diggle had tried to find them or he had just given up.

She felt bad for the man, he hadn't asked to babysit them.

"I hired you to protect my children." Moira sighed, her tone verging on one of annoyance "Now, I'm not a professional bodyguard, but it seems to me that the first requirement would be managing to stay next to the people you're hired to protect."

"With all due respect Ma'am...I've never had a client that didn't want my protection, nevermind two of them." Diggle replied, Thea was pretty sure that if he could he would have sounded annoyed. She didn't understand how he hadn't snapped at the both of them yet.

"I hired you." Moira replied in a clipped tone, "That makes me the client. Now where do you think my children are going on these chaperone-less excursions?"

"Miss Queen is with a Miss Lance and Mr Merlyn assured me she'd be safe with the daughter of the Detective. " Diggle replied before letting out a sigh, "And as for your son, I truly do not know." Thea hoped that they wouldn't bump into Laurel and ask her about their fictional time together.

Oliver chose that moment to enter and she followed close behind him, "And he _truly_ doesn't."

"Then perhaps you'd like to share with me, you know, where exactly it is you run off to." Their Mother turned to him with an expectant expression.

Oliver chuckled and Thea watched as his playboy persona was put firmly in place, "I've been alone for five years."

"I know that Oliver," Mom opened her mouth as if to start talking again.

"Mom-" He cut her off, "Alone." Oliver replied as he stressed the last word, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Thea could see the disaproval radiating off of their Mother, "I see.."

"I promise to introduce her if it ever gets to the exchanging first names stage.." He trailed off with a smirk.

"No, I'd rather you promised to take Mr. Diggle with you on your next rendezvous." Their Mother retorted, she paused and her tone softened "It's not safe, you've already been abducted once. There is a maniac out there, hunting the wealthy."

"That maniac saved Oliver, Tommy and me when we were kidnapped." Thea called out with a frown, "If anything you should be worrying about the psycho that kidnapped us." She noticed how her Mother stiffened at that and idly wondered if the police had made any sort of headway in their investigation. She'd have to ask Laurel.

"This isn't a game. " Their Mother snapped, "I lost you both once. And I am not going through that again."

"Okay..." Oliver raised his hands in mock-surrender and shot Diggle a grin, "Dig's my guy."

"Thank you." Moira murmured with a sigh before leaving the room, leaving Thea with Diggle and Oliver.

Thea smiled apologetically at Diggle, "Sorry about ditching you."

Oliver nodded in agreement and echoed her sentiment, "I'm sorry that I've been giving you so much grief."

To her surprise Diggle let out a bark of laughter at that, "I served three tours in Afghanistan...you don't come close to my defintion of grief." Diggle picked up his coat from the coach and turned to face them with a serious expression, "I tell you what though...ditch me again and your Mother won't have to fire me."

They watched as Diggle walked away from them and Thea sighed, "I feel bad for that guy."

"Well we don't have much of a choice but to ditch him...he'd only get in the way and blow our cover." Oliver muttered.

"He's ex-Army...maybe we could bring him on?" Thea suggested.

Oliver shook his head, "The less people that know the better."

Sighing she shrugged, "I have online classes I need to do...Mom still wants me to get my GED." Rolling her eyes she headed out towards her room.

"Yell if you need any help with that." Oliver called out after her.

She appreciated the offer but Oliver hadn't paid attention at school or tried, that wasn't to say that he was an idiot but he hadn't tried at school and had passed because of Laurel and Tommy.

She just hoped that she'd pass, Algerba was making her regret agreeing to the idea of Online classes.

. . .

The next day Oliver made his way through the Queen Consolidated building, his playboy smile was firmly in place as he nodded and greeted the various employees. It was what people would expect 'Oliver Queen' to do, before the Island he only cared about three things; Money, women and alcohol.

It would be best for everyone if that appeared to be unchanged.

His Mom chuckled as she led him out of the elevator and watched as he winked and greeted three of her employees, they giggled in response, "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, I am." He replied quietly with a smirk.

Walter led them towards his office, his Dad's former office, "I remember when your Father used to bring you here when you were a boy." The man chuckled, "You were always so excited."

Oliver smiled at the memory, "Dad let me drink Soda in the office." When he was younger his Mother had gone through a 'healthy eating' phase and so they had been forced to only eat and drink organic food. Thankfully Mom had given up after a year of him constantly begging.

"Ah," Moira chuckled as she wrapped an arm around Oliver and started to guide him to the office, "So that's why you enjoyed coming."

Walter turned around to face him as they stepped inside of the office, "The Queen Consolidated's success of late is a result of its targeted diversification." Oliver made sure to nod in all of the right places, although he did think that what the company was doing sounded good "We have been making impressive inroads in cutting-edge fields like bio-tech and clean energy."

"That's neat." He replied and then stiffened as he felt his Mother start guiding him towards the chair, he jerked himself out of her grip and turned his attention to the woman sitting outside of Walter's office, "Excuse me? Can I get a sparkling water, or something cold, please?"

"Sweetheart, Oliver, Walter and I have something to discuss with you." His Mother called out in an attempt to get his attention, she gently guided him towards the couches "Come, please sit."

"Mom.." Oliver forced out a chuckle, "It makes me nervous when you ask me to sit down."

"The company's about to break ground on a new site for the Applied Sciences division, and we would like to honor your father by dedicating the building in his name." Walter said, eyeing Oliver carefully to watch his response.

"Nice." Oliver muttered not sure about why they were making it a big deal, that was a good thing right? A part of him stiffened slightly as he waited for the 'but' that was inevitably coming.

"And we'd like to make an announcement at the dedication that you will be taking a leadership position in the company." His Mother finished, looking at him expectantly.

It didn't take him more than a second to respond, "No." He knew that his Mother had been wanting him to join the company, she had been dropping hints ever since he had gotten back.

"No?" His Mother echoed, clearly unhappy with his response, "Your-" She cut herself off with a sigh, "Your company-"

"No, I don't want to lead anything." Oliver cut her off, he didn't want to run the company, he didn't have the time for it and he didn't want to. He needed to focus on the list, that was what his Father would have wanted. "Besides, Walter is doing a very good job here." He turned to face the man with a smile.

"You said that you wanted to be a different person." His Mother began, "You are Robert Queen's son."

He froze at that, "I don't need to be reminded of that." He felt his shutters going down and his body went rigid, he clenched his fists to try and stop the flashes of his Father's death going through his head.

He knew who his Father was, that was why he was doing what he was - why he was going after the people on the list. Everything he was doing was for his Father, he didn't need a position at the company or his Mother to remind him of that or who he was.

"Well, obviously you do." His Mother retorted and he tried to keep himself from snapping at her, it wasn't her fault - she didn't know.

"Everyone here understands that this transition is really difficult for you-" Walter cut in, trying to ease the tension and whilst he appreciated the effort the sound of the voice - the sound of his step-Father - caused him to loose it.

"Thank you, Walter." Oliver said, his tone cold and full of steel "Which part, though? Everyone fantasizing that I got my MBA while I was on the island?" His voice rose along with his anger and he couldn't stop the biting comment slipping out, "Or the fact that my father's CFO now sleeps down the hall from me?"

All traces of sympathy and warmth left Walter's eyes and Oliver couldn't blame the man. He opened his mouth to apologise but couldn't bring himself to say it.

He watched as his Mother started to walk away as she shook her head at him and what he had said, she spun around and stared at him with a disapointed expression "You know...five years ago your irriresponsibility was somewhat charming." She frowned, "It is a lot less so now."

He wished that he could explain everything, tell her why he was doing what he was, tell her why he couldn't join the company but he couldn't. It was safer for everyone if he let them think he was the same stupid, rich playboy.

Walter glanced at him before the man hurried after his wife.

Oliver sighed and allowed Diggle to lead him out of the office and towards the elevator, he was certain that Thea or Tommy were going to give him a lecture later. Though judging by the expression on the man's expression he half expected him to.

 **. . .**

The reporters all shoved and clamoured to get near him, to get a photo or a statement. The cameras clicked and the flash somewhat blinded him, he got into the car with Diggle close behind him.

The man slid into the chair next to him and they sat in silence, "The driver will be here in a minute or two."

"Okay." Oliver murmured as he stared out of the window, not paticularly wanting to talk to him, especially about what had just happened.

"You know, I spent the first 27 years of my life in Starling City, and the next five in Afghanistan." Oliver sighed and waited for the lecture, "You want to know what I learned?"

"There's no place like home." He replied sarcastically.

"No, just the opposite." Oliver perked up slightly at the response and stared at Diggle with a curious expression, maybe Diggle wasn't about to give him a lecture. "Home is a battlefield, back home they're all trying to get you." Diggle noticed he had the young billionaire's attention and continued, "Get you to open up, be somebody you're not sure you are anymore."

Oliver looked out of the window, deep in thought and listened as Diggle continued "Or I could be wrong." Dig looked searchingly at Oliver, "Maybe after five years alone, you're not as messed up in the head as you have every right to be."

. . .

 **Meanwhile**

Thea Queen tapped her foot against the chair inside Doctor Pressnall's office. Tommy was waiting outside the room for her, she was grateful for both the company and moral support, he had offered to come with her and had suggested that the pair of them could spend some time together after her appointment.

Thea stared at the diploma on the good Doctor's wall, she wondered how long it had taken for her to get that. She wondered if she would have gone to college if she hadn't ended up on the Island.

A painting on Pressnall's wall drew her attention away from the diploma, she was fairly certain that the woman was talking to her but she didn't feel like responding. It was the Odessy and she flinched as the name flashed through her mind. It reminded her of the Island, of the people she had hurt, Oliver included.

All because she was a stupid kid.

It brought back memories of Yao Fei and his death and then of Slade and their escape attempt. She clenched her fists and dug her nails into her palms, using the pain to distract her from the unwelcome thoughts.

"Miss Queen!" Doctor Pressnall called out, more firmly this time "I'm assuming you didn't listen to anything I just said?"

Thea shook her head, "Sorry...I was admiring your paintings."

For some reason that made Pressnall perk up and Thea hoped that the woman wasn't about to psychoanalyse her taste in art - even if she was technically right about the fact that it was making her think of the Island "I didn't realise you liked art Thea?"

"My Mom and Dad have-" She shook her head, "Had a large collection of art and they had a couple of the Odessy paintings."

"Your Father?" Doctor Pressnall ventured, "He died on the Gambit? Do you want to talk about it?"

Thea paused and frowned as she thought about it, "Not really."

"You need to talk to someone Miss Queen," Pressnall said as she leaned back in her chair.

Thea huffed, "I thought I asked you to call me Thea."

"Sorry," Doctor Pressnall murmured, "Thea...you do realise you need to talk to someone...these appointments aren't meant to punish you or make you feel bad they are to help you cope with what happened."

"I have my brother." Thea muttered.

"You need to open yourself up to people other than him," Pressnall replied smoothly, "If you remain dependant on eachother you'll both only get worse."

"I'm fine." Thea replied and went back to daydreaming and paying attention to everything but Doctor Pressnall. Her mind wandered back to the Island and her attention was drawn back to the painting; The Odyssey - Odysseus escapes the lure of the Sirens. 1859-83. Friedrich.

Her Mother had taught her a lot about art when she was younger.

 **. . .**

After Thea's session Tommy and Thea had went to big belly burger and talked about everything but the elephant in the room. Tommy wanted to try to talk to them about what they had been through but he couldn't find the words.

Then he'd gotten a text from Walter asking him to come back to the Mansion and talk to Moira which in turn resulted in him being asked to talk to Oliver. Moira was upset about Oliver's refusal to accept a position in the company and Tommy didn't know how to feel about it. He was fairly certain that if he had spent five years on an Island the idea of sitting in a boardroom and listening to reports on taxes and stock would be the last thing he wanted to do.

But Oliver didn't explain that to Moira, he had just lashed out. And now he was on his way to his friend's room in an attempt to finally talk to him.

Tommy Merlyn shot Raisa a small smile as she headed out of Oliver's room, she had left the door open and so he hurried straight in - unanounced but it was technically now his home too so he didn't feel much of a need to knock.

He and Oliver had always just walked into eachothers rooms unanounced and the pair hadn't really had a concept of privacy or boundries, they were like brothers.

So Tommy didn't think that him walking into Oliver's room would be a problem, until he laid his eyes on his friend's torso. A strangled gasp escaped his lips and he saw Oliver spin around to face him. "Don't you knock!" Oliver called out.

"The door was open.." Tommy murmured as his eyes were drawn back to his friend's body, "O-Oliver...what the hell-" He cut himself off and stormed over to his friend. Oliver tried to shove on a shirt but Tommy grabbed at the shirt and pulled it opened as he looked at the scarred mess that was his friend's torso.

Moira had told him that there were scars, on both Ollie and Thea, but he had imagined a couple of animal bites and two or three scratches from falling down a hill or a mountain. Not this.

There were burns, something akin to a shark-bite, cuts that looked anything but natural and two tattoos. He frowned at those, he was fairly certain Oliver hadn't had tattoos before the Island.

His hand reached out of it's own accord towards the tattoo on his chest, "Don't." Oliver practically growled and Tommy whimpered as his hand shot out and gripped his wrist.

Oliver had gotten freakishly strong on that Island, "Ollie..." he looked at his friend and nodded his head towards his wrist.

He watched as his friend went rigid and dropped his wrist, he seemed to have frozen and just looked at Tommy with a blank expression - and how Tommy hated that damn expression. It had been Oliver's favourite since his return and everytime Tommy saw it a part of him broke because he used to be able to read Oliver like a book and now it was like there was a stranger in front of him that just happened to be inside of his friend's body.

"What happened to you?" Tommy questioned sadly as he rubbed his wrist, it was red from where Oliver had grabbed it, he took a step back and watched as Oliver buttoned up his shirt.

"Nothing good." Oliver grunted.

Tommy shook his head, "Oliver...I can't imagine what you went through but this-" He gestured to his friend's scars, "Isn't something you can just bottle up...how the hell did you survive this?"

"I had help." Oliver muttered, "And I had Thea...I wasn't about to leave her on her own."

"Help?" Tommy echoed, surprised by the fact Oliver had actually answered his question, "I thought you were alone on the Island."

"I lied." Oliver said shortly and Tommy could practically see the shutters going down, "Bad things happened Tommy...I got these keeping Thea safe."

Tommy, "You protected her." He couldn't help but let a bit of pride slip into his tone - Oliver had been through hell and still managed to make sure that they both came out the other side.

"And I always will." Oliver replied and Tommy flinched at his friend's tone, it was steely and Tommy couldn't help but hear the underlying threat. Oliver shook himself and plastered on a smile and it was with a jolt that Tommy realised how fake it was, when had Oliver gotten this good at pretending? "What did you want Tommy?"

"I-I wanted to show you something...your Mom told me about the office and I came to try and talk to you." Tommy murmured not exactly wanting to accept the change of topic, "Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded and grabbed his jacket off of his bed.

"Good." Tommy muttered, "Then I have something to show you." His brain was still focused on his friend's scars and it had left him with more questions than answers.

 **. . .**

Oliver frowned as Tommy led him out into the garden, "I used to come out here all the time..." Tommy called out as he led him towards a secluded part of the Queen Mansion's gardens - surrounded by trees and foliage.

He froze for a second when he laid eyes on the graves, three tall granite gravestones - all identical barring Thea's, hers had a small white angel engraved onto the gravestone. He moved next to Tommy and turned his attention to his friend, silently asking why he had brought him here.

"Your Mom didn't cope well," Tommy shrugged, "How could she...her children and husband were dead and all anyone seemed to care about was either getting a story from it or the Company...no one cared about Moira just 'Moira Queen'...she had already been like a second Mother to be...after mine-" He cut himself off and sighed, "She stopped talking and going out...so I'd come here...sometimes she'd talk to me other times she wouldn't and I'd come out here and talk to you and Thea." He scoffed, "Stupid stuff."

Tommy turned to face him, "Those five years were hell for everyone and whilst they weren't as bad as whatever happened to you-" He gestured to Oliver's torso which was now hidden behind the shirt, "Things weren't all sunshine and rainbows here...at first I got into hard drug...fights...the press loved it...my Dad threatened to cut me off and ship me to Rehab...I couldn't leave your Mom alone...so I stopped...became obsessed with bringing you two home to her."

Oliver frowned and wondered if Tommy was about to mention Hong-Kong, he stayed silent and let his friend continue - Tommy seemed to need this.

"I begged you both to not be dead...I wanted my siblings back...for mine and your Mom's sake." He let out a heavy breath, "She lost everything and so did I...things got better when she found Walter but for me it wasn't the same...I know you don't want to be a part of the Company but you need to see where she's coming from...she lost everything Ollie and she just wants what she thinks is best for you...instead of lashing out and insulting Walter try talking to her and telling her the truth...who knows maybe QC won't be as bad as you think."

"Just give her a chance," Tommy muttered before walking away, Oliver didn't follow after him and he knelt down in front of his Father's grave as the thought about what Tommy had told him.

 **. . .**

Thea Queen anxiously drummed her feet against the floor outside of Laurel's apartment, Diggle had agreed to wait outside to give her a bit of privacy. She needed to talk to someone and for some reason Laurel was one of the first people that popped into her head, when she was younger Laurel had been a big sister to her - teaching her how to do her hair, gave her advice on how to deal with problems and had taught her how to fight back against bullies.

Tommy and Oliver had just kept threatening to beat the bullies up instead of telling her how to deal with it herself.

Laurel had always been good at helping her with her problems, she only hoped that hadn't changed whilst she'd been on the Island.

She raised her fist and knocked on the door, paper bag in the other hand. When Laurel opened the door she noticed the surprised expression on her face and shot her a nervous smile, "Hello? Are you okay...I saw two cop cars outside and I was worried."

"They're there per my Dad's orders." Laurel said and awkwardly gestured for Thea to come inside, "I missed you after the court session."

"Yeah," Thea apologised, "I was going to come find you but it was too busy and I freaked out and wanted to go home." She shrugged, "I would have texted but I don't have a phone...Mom's sorting it for a tech person to show me and Ollie the ropes."

"Ah," Laurel chuckled at Thea's tone.

"This place hasn't changed in five years..." Thea murmured as she looked around Laurel's apartment, "It's nice."

"Well I haven't exactly had much time to decorate." Laurel muttered, frustration seeping back into her tone.

"Look...I'm sorry about Ollie...before the Island he was a jerk and now he's a damaged jerk but he probably wasn't trying to be a jerk...he's trying to protect everyone...pushing them away-" Thea reasoned, weakly trying to defend her brother, she understood why he was doing what he did and his sudden change of heart probably had something to do with their visit to Adam Hunt.

"He pushed me away right after I offered to be there for him, be there for someone who I have hated and been angry at for five years, I was prepared to help him and be a friend." Laurel muttered, "Instead he pushed me away...I appreciate the effort Thea and I understand you want to protect him but please don't."

Thea nodded to show her understanding and raised her paper bag towards Laurel, "I didn't come here to defend Oliver...I wanted to do something with you and ask you for some advice."

"What's in the bag?" Laurel questioned.

Thea pulled out a tub of ice cream, "Ice cream...cookie dough...I missed a lot of things on the Island and for some reason ice-cream was pretty high on that list...I bought some and wanted to try it with you." She was telling the truth, she'd missed Ice cream and hadn't gotten a chance to try it in Hong-Kong and Russia was cold enough without it.

Laurel chuckled and headed towards her kitchen, "I'll go grab some spoons and bowls."

"Or we could eat it out of the tub?" Thea suggested with a grin.

"You heathen..." Laurel called back with mock-disgust.

Thea laughed and headed over to the couch, "Five years on a desert Island!" She defended with a smile, enjoying the playful easygoing atmosphere. It was a nice feeling.

Laurel hurried back over with the spoons and bowls and sat down on the couch, Thea leaned against the arm of the couch on the opposite end to Laurel - she chuckled as Laurel used a knife to open the tub. She could have easily done that for her.

"This is as good as I remember." Thea said as she ate the ice-cream, the pair ate companionably in silence. "Mom wants Ollie to join the company...'take his rightful place.'"

"Funnily enough, I can't see Oliver as master of the universe." Laurel said with a grin.

"Pressnall wants me to 'reach out' to people...make new friends...talk about the Island." Thea blurted out suddenly as she stabbed her ice-cream with her spoon, it was why she had gone to Laurel's and what she had wanted to talk to Laurel about but actually broaching the topic was making her nervous. Her words came out in a rush and she refused to look at Laurel as she said them.

"It might help," Laurel replied and Thea could tell by her tone that she was firmly in 'big sister' mode, "And she's right about reaching out to people...you can't just isolate yourself."

"I'm not!" Thea protested, "I've reached out to you...I talk to Mom and Walter and Tommy-"

"But not about the Island." Laurel reasoned, "You keep that bottled up and I can imagine why but Thea...that kind of trauma isn't something you want to bottle up...you can't bottle up feelings like that...my Dad did and it cost him his marriage."

"I'm sorry-" Thea began, she hadn't known that Quentin and Diana were divorced.

Laurel shook her head and cut her off, "That wasn't me trying to make you feel bad or ask for sympathy Thea..I just think you need to talk about what happened and if that is with your Therapist then do that."

"I have Ollie...if I want to talk about that." Thea muttered.

"Who's as damaged, if not more so, as you." Laurel said, "Talk to someone...me...or your Therapist...Pressnall is there to help you and whilst it might not seem like it she's there to help you...I understand that you and Oliver had been through hell together but you aren't him or responsible for him...just because he pushes everyone away doesn't mean you should follow in his footsteps."

"How is talking about the worst time of my life meant to help me deal with it?" Thea said, meeting Laurel's gaze.

"I don't know." Laurel shrugged and Thea looked at her in surprise "I don't have all the answers and I'm not a psychiatrist but you won't know until you try."

"Thanks Laurel." Thea murmured, "And I am really sorry about...everything." She couldn't bring herself to mention Sara.

"You've already apologised...besides you have nothing to apologise for...you were a kid when you went on that boat and had nothing to do with Oliver and Sara." Thea winced at that, she had plenty to apologise for - most of it to do with Sara, not that she could talk about it. Oliver had already told Laurel that Sara died on the Gambit.

Not two years later on the Amazo.

The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate their ice-cream, Thea frowned as a low thud echoed through the room - she noticed that Laurel hadn't seemed to have heard it. She froze and felt the adrenaline start to surge through her and a feeling of unease settled around her, five years had taught her to trust and rely on her instincts and senses - she wouldn't have survived without her senses.

Five years of hell had honed them to be more delicate than most people's.

"Did you hear that?" Thea questioned quietly, already trying to work out a plan.

Laurel shook her head, "What?"

Another noise caught her attention, a soft footstep.

There was someone coming for them.

"There's someone on the fire escape." Thea murmured and reached over towards the knife that was lying on the coffee table, it wasn't an ideal weapon but it was the best she had at the moment.

She hadn't brought her knives with her as she hadn't felt the need, Diggle was with her.

 **Diggle.** Where was he?

"Hey.." Thea whispered urgently as she grabbed Laurel's hand and got up, "Come on! Come on.." She dragged Laurel towards the front door and ignored Laurel's confused mutterings.

A man kicked down the door and she jerked backwards as the wood splintered everywhere, she kept a hold of Laurel's hand and the pair ran back towards Laurel's room - Thea remembered that it had a window.

Windows were good as escape routes.

She heard Laurel scream as bullets flew through the air, aimed towards them.

 **Fire escape.** Thea froze as they reached Laurel's room, she had heard someone on it. She muttered a curse and started to turn backwards as another man jumped through Laurel's window - brandishing a gun.

This was a planned attack, Thea desperately tried to come up with a plan - she couldn't take out two attackers whilst Laurel was there without revealing herself.

Silently she begged Diggle to hurry up, the man was out of the army and had a gun. She had a kitchen knife.

Then another figure appeared, entering through the fire escape, Thea's eyes widened as she took in the person's appearance. White hair. China White. The woman was the reason that she and Ollie had been forced to work for ARGUS, the reason behind Fyers and his men.

She twirled the knife in her hand as she braced herself for a fight, hopefully Laurel could hold her own - the woman was the daughter of a cop afterall.

Before she could make a move Diggle stormed through the door, Thea felt herself sag slightly with relief, in four quick motions he had taken out the two armed attackers and she watched as China turned her attention to him.

The woman was one of the triad's best and Thea hadn't seen Diggle fight before. Internally she struggled about whether to risk it, she couldn't let Laurel or Diggle die but she didn't want to reveal the fact that 'Thea Queen' could fight.

It would raise too many questions.

She eyed up Laurel before running towards the room opposite where Diggle and China were fighting, she watched as the fight started to swing in China's favour and when the woman raised her knife as if she was about to stab Diggle she chose that moment to strike.

Throwing the knife towards the knife she hoped it would be strong enough to disarm China and give Diggle the chance to gain an upperhand.

China ran, Thea assumed she didn't want to risk loosing the fight, Diggle grabbed his gun and looked over at where China had fled.

Thea ran towards Laurel and allowed the older girl to pull her into an embrace, using the close contact to check Laurel for any injuries - she let out a couple of choked sobs. She felt herself growing tired as the adrenaline started to wear off, Laurel stroked her hair in an attempt to comfort her and Thea smiled slightly at the gesture.

"Are you hurt Miss Queen?" Diggle called out as he assesed the situation.

"No." Thea called back.

Diggle seemed to not have heard or believed her, "Are you hurt Miss Queen!?" He yelled again.

"No!" She yelled back, "Laurel's fine too...I think."

He let out a low chuckle, "This is why it's a good idea to have a bodyguard."

Thea grudgingly admitted he was right, even if she didn't like it she currently owed both her and Laurel's life. She sighed and looked at Laurel, the woman looked pretty shaken up - although she wasn't surprised, someone had just tried to kill her.

"I've called the cops...they should be here any minute." Diggle called out as he made his way over to them.

 **. . .**

The cops arrived in record time, although she was pretty sure who Laurel was had to do with that, they took their statements and began to start taking photos of the crime scene. Diggle leaned over to her and murmured, "I've called Oliver...he should be here any minute."

She nodded and looked up as Quentin Lance entered the room, he looked around madly before rushing over and embracing Laurel.

"Daddy!"

A pang of saddness welled up inside of her, the scene reminiscent of her and her Father.

"Oh, thank god." Lance muttered as he hugged his daughter, "Thank god...are you alright?"

"I'm okay." Laurel reassured him, she pulled herself from her Father's grip and hesitated before speaking again "Those cops that you put on me.." She trailed off uncertainly and Thea felt herself straighten up at that.

She had forgotten about the cops waiting outside, they hadn't shown up - only Diggle.

Quentin sighed and ran a hand over his head. "They.." He trailed off with a heavy breath not wanting to break the news to his daughter.

"I went outside to ask for a light," Diggle called out and shook his head sadly, "They were both dead in the squad car."

Laurel gasped and let out a strangled cry, Thea winced in sympathy, being the daughter of a Detective meant that she would know most of the men on the foce. She covered her mouth as she held back tears.

Quentin stepped away from his daughter and hurried over towards Diggle, giving the man a grateful look for breaking the news to his daughter "It's okay...Mr Diggle thank you! Feel free to run as many red lights in the city as you want." Thea noted the smile on his face and the warm tone of voice, well as warm as Quentin Lance could get anyways.

"I was just doing my job sir." Diggle said humbly in response.

Quentin shook his head and his expression clouded over, "No..your job is protecting her and her brother." He jerked his thumb towards Thea and she frowned, "It seems like whenever a Queen is with a daughter of mine they get hurt...I had hoped you wouldn't be following in your brothers footsteps Thea."

"Dad!" Laurel called out, clearly outraged at the way her Father was talking to Thea.

"Mr Lance!" A voice called out from the door, Thea turned to see her brother in the doorway, "I'd appreciate it if you could leave my sister alone...she's just had a rather traumatic experience."

Quentin walked straight over towards her brother with an angry expression, "You and your sister need to stay away from my daughter's...you already got one killed...don't cost me another." He practically growled out the last part of his statement, "Stay away from Laurel or I swear the next time you disapear it'll be permanent."

"Dad!" Laurel reprimanded and Thea glared at the Detective.

"No..Laurel..." Quentin retorted but Oliver cut them both off.

"It's okay..." He said quietly as he raised his gaze to meet the Detective, "I understand." The Detective stared at him for a second or two before stepping away and nodding.

Diggle looked at her and gently pulled her towards the door, "Let's go Miss Queen." She felt Oliver squeeze her shoulder and looked at him anxiously, Quentin had every right to be angry and she hadn't expected anything less but watching him tear into her brother had been hard.

She leaned in towards him once they were in the car, "China White was there."

He froze and went rigid and she saw the colour drain from his face, "You sure?"

"Yeah," She sighed, "I saved Dig from her..." At his questioning look she explained, "Disarmed her by throwing a knife...we're going to need to come up with an excuse to cover it."

He nodded and leaned back towards the window, his eyes on Diggle, as they drove back to the Mansion.

 **. . .**

Thea watched as Diggle sat on the couch in the hallway, she had tossed over some bandages and watched as he patched himself up. She had offered to give him a hand but he'd said he had it.

Oliver had disapeared on a quest to grab some ice, she had chuckled at the image - Raisa didn't like people going into the kitchen and taking things as it was firmly 'her domain' and she always used to give Tommy and Oliver hell for their frequent midnight raids on her pantry.

"How's your hand?" Thea questioned and nodded her hand towards the injury.

"I'll live." Diggle muttered in response, catching the icepack and towel that Oliver tossed towards him as he rentered the room.

Oliver looked at Diggle with a grateful expression, "I'd say thank you but I don't think that would cover it."

"Well, like I told your cop friend, I was just doing my job." Diggle replied with a shrug, "Besides, I think it should be Thea that I'm thanking."

She and Oliver exchanged a look at that and wondered where exactly Diggle was going to go with this. Thea shot him a faux confused look, "What for?"

"The knife." Diggle replied with a searching expression.

"Oh..the Knife," She shrugged, "I got lucky."

"That was a kitchen knife..it wasn't even weighted properly and you threw it with accuracy across a ten foot room?" Diggle retorted with a raised eyebrow, not believing her for a second.

Oliver chose that moment to intervene and shot Diggle a cheerful smile, "Guess the Island did pay off..." At Diggle's look he continued, "Well we had to hunt for food...didn't have anything apart from rocks, makeshift spears, sticks and whatever happened to wash up on the ocean...we got good at throwing things from a distance."

"Eventually." Thea chimed in with a grin.

Diggle watched the two of them with an unimpressed expression and Thea internally winced, he didn't seem to be falling for it, "I'm not the kind of man either of you want to take for a fool, you understand me?"

"Yes." They both replied.

"And I think I'm just beginning to understand the kind of people the pair of you are," Diggle continued with a thoughtful expression.

Thea grinned and jerked a thumb in his direction, "Shouldn't be that hard...he's a shallow playboy that likes to drink and sleep around with random woman." She let out an exaggerated yawn, "And I'm a very very tired teenager who has online classes to flunk."

She walked away from the both of them and waved, "Goodnight Diggle...Oliver."

Diggle just smirked in response, "Goodnight Miss Queen...Mr Queen."

 **. . .**

Thea waited ten minutes before sneaking out of her room and towards the garage, she noticed that Oliver's bike was already gone and realised he must have already went to the Foundry. She wasn't surprised, Somers had sent a Triad assasin China White after someone they cared about.

He was going to regret that.

She was going to make sure that he regretted that.

Thea looked towards her brother's old bike, it was small enough for her to use and thanks to Oliver she had learnt how to drive a car and ride a bike during her time in Russia. Anatoly hadn't appointed her an 'offical' member of the Bratva so during his initiations she had had a lot of time to kill.

She grabbed a helemet off of the rack and kicked the bike into gear, she just hoped that it wouldn't be loud enough to wake up her Mom, Walter or Tommy.

 **. . .**

Her brother was already ready when she got into the foundry, dressed in his vigilante gear, his expression was stormy and she could see the anger brewing in his eyes. "He's going to pay for attacking you and Laurel."

Thea grabbed her bow and put on her domino mask, she had already changed into her gear, "He'll still face justice though, right?" She wanted Somers to pay just as much as anyone but she didn't want her brother to outright kill the guy.

Her brother let out a dark chuckle, "He'll face justice alright...it'll just be a different kind." She watched as he pulled up the hood and she tried to ignore the hairs that stood up on the end of her neck, Somers was about to pay.

And she wasn't sure how to feel about that.

 **. . .**

They made their way to Somers warehouse, she watched from the shadows as Oliver jumped down and took out two of his goons. She followed after him and got her bow ready, an arrow ready to fire towards anyone who came too close.

Somers voice rang out through a radio, Thea looked to see that Oliver had taken a radio from one of the men's belts, "Triad bitch screwed up the hit on Lance." She bristled at that - so it had been Somers, she watched as Oliver stiffened and she knew that he was thinking about many different ways to make the man pay.

All of them bloody.

"Now, the Triad is gonna erase every ounce of evidence of their smuggling operation, including me." Somers mutterings could be heard, "Except that's not gonna happen..tell Wallace to get the boat ready...I'm leaving tonight."

"Wallace? Wallace, you copy? Wallace?" They shared a look as they realised Wallace must be one of the men currently lying on the floor of the warehouse.

"Wallace isn't here." Oliver spoke into the radio, his voice modulator turning it into a robotic growl "But I am."

"We need to move, now." They heard a thud and assumed the radio had been dropped, vaguely they could make our Somers panicked tone, "Move!"

"Sir, we've got six men up there."

"It's not enough. Move it!"

Thea smirked at that, taking out a couple of armed thugs was going to be like child's play. Somers was right about that, nothing was going to stop them from taking the man down.

. . .

Thea watched as 'The Hood' jumped down from the balcony where he had been engrossed in a fight with one of Somers men. She loaded and fired a bow off towards one of the men on the ground, killing him before he could fire at her or her brother.

She ignored the sound of gunfire around her and focused on trying to pick out Somers in the crowd, her eyes searched for Somers amongst the chaos whilst Oliver killed yet another guard.

A part of her felt a pang of guilt as she looked at the scene around her, so many innocent lives taken. Although were they really innocent? They worked for Somers and knew what he had done, what he tried to cover up.

"Look out!" She yelled as a man ran up the stairs towards her brother, he turned around and fired the man in the chest - sending him over the railing and crashing down to the ground. Jumping down from where she had been watching the scene she landed next to her brother and took out another goon with her bow, "Can you see him?" she muttered.

He shook his head, loading another arrow into his bow as he got ready to fire.

They were both on edge.

"There!" Oliver called out and they both jumped down from their position, landing on the ground with a hard thud. She ducked and rolled to soften the impact whilst her brother just landed on two-feet.

Loading another arrow she sprinted after the man, allowing her brother to cover her, Somers wasn't about to get away from her. Not this time. Not after sending an assasin after Laurel and nearly getting Diggle and herself caught in the crossfire.

She could feel her brother close behind her and they both stopped as soon as Somers came to a dead end, she fired an arrow towards the box he had found himself standing in front of "Somers!" She growled.

She smirked as the arrow went through his suit jacket and pinned him to the box, she fired off another one and watched as he struggled to get himself free. Turning to her brother she gestured for him to take charge.

"I want the truth about Victor Nocenti!" Her brother called out as he fired off an arrow that landed just above Somers head.

Somers shook his head and whimpered slightly, "I-I can't...t-the triad...the triad will kill me."

"The triad's not your concern right now." He snarled as he fired off another arrow and moved closer to Nocenti, "Tell me!"

"All right! All right...all right!" The man stammered out, sounding hysterical "It wasn't me that killed him! It was the Triad!"

"Acting on whose instructions." The Hood fired off another arrow that landed milimeters away from the man's skull, a part of Thea was hoping that her brother would miss and that Somers would find himself with an arrow inside of him.

It was no less than he deserved.

When the man didn't respond he fired again, "WHOSE?!" He yelled, his tone reducing the man to a snivelling mess.

"All right, all right." Somers called out, pleading for The Hood to stop, "It was mine. It was mine, all right? Nocenti said he was gonna testify against me." Thea shook her head, the man had killed Emily Nocenti's only family and he had been about to get away with it.

The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up and she turned around to face China White. The woman looked the same as she had two years ago.

"Líkāi tā, [Move away from him]" The woman ordered her and Thea smiled slightly - she didn't recognise her. It wasn't surprising, she wasn't exactly dressed the way she had been back then.

"Ràng wǒ, [Make me]" Thea taunted - grateful for the fact that Shado and Tatsu had helped her become fluent. She wasn't about to let China stop Oliver from getting justice, from making Somers pay.

Hoping that China would be too focused on her to remember Oliver she lunged towards China, firing off an arrow towards her before using her bow to try and push the woman away from her.

China was skilled with a knife and hand-to-hand but Thea knew that bow's could be just as deadly at close range as they were from a distance.

It seemed that both she and China had improved since their last enounter, Thea barely had time to dodge each of China's blows after she landed one of her own. She noticed midway through the fight that she wouldn't be able to take down China, only defend herself from her.

She blocked China's knife with her bow but she stumbled slightly as she put too much force behind her block, China used that to knock her off balance.

Thea fell to the ground with a groan as China knocked her onto her back, she tensed up as China raised her knife and vaguely wondered if it would hurt as much as it had last time - stabbing was the way she'd rather not die.

Only if it was quick.

Before she could make a final wish or before Oliver could pull China off of her the sound of sirens caused the three of them to free, "This is the police! Drop your weapons!" A voice intoned over a megaphone.

She watched as China ran back into the shadows and she accepted Oliver's hand as he pulled her up from the ground and the pair of them sprinted in the opposite direction of China.

They come to a storage unit and she watched as Oliver climbed the unit and was about to follow after him when she heard an all too familiar noise, the sound of a gun clicking - the sound of the safety being turned off.

"Freeze!" A voice called out and she groaned as she realised who it was, of course Quentin Lance would be the one she came across, "You twitch and you're dead." He ordered "Bow down, hands up."

She was about to reach down when she heard Oliver fire off an arrow towards the man, taking that as her chance to escape she grabbed Oliver's hand and pulled herself up onto the storage container.

They both jumped off of the other side and fled, she could hear Quentin cursing behind them. "Son of a bitch!" She exchanged a smirk with her brother, it appeared that Quentin had found Somers confession.

Whilst it had probably been a lot less bloody than Oliver would have liked, and she had also wanted to see Somers walk away with a couple more bruises than he currently had, she was at least content with the knowledge that they had taken another name off of the list.

And that Emily would get justice for her Father's death.

All in all, it was a pretty productive night.

She grinned and got onto the back of Oliver's bike and listened to the sirens as they rode back to their base.

 **. . .**

"One down..." She murmured as she placed down her bow and took off her domino mask, "By the way...what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Is now really the time?" Oliver questioned as he placed his bow onto the table and lowered his hood, they had gotten the confession to the police and so they needed to find another name. But Oliver really didn't feel like talking about this situation now.

Thea met his gaze, "Tommy talked to me...we went to big belly burger after my Therapy...Mom text him-" She trailed off uncertianly, "She really wants you to join the company?"

"I can't." He replied, stressing the last word. "What we're doing here is more important," He gestured around at the foundry, "This is how I'm going to honour Dad...I can't join the company...I wouldn't know how and do you really see me sitting in an office all day and taking phone calls?"

"No." She admitted, "But you could have handled the situation with more tact...instead of pushing her away and snapping at Walter."

"Tommy's already lectured me." Oliver bit back.

Thea ran a hand through her hair, she wasn't trying to start a confrontation she just wanted to know where his head was at. "I'm not trying to have a go...I just want to understand why you can't do this for her...for our Mom."

"Dad asked us to right his wrongs," Oliver began, "How am I meant to do that if I'm joining the very people we're meant to take care of...to deal with...I don't want to be a businessman or be a part of the Company...I never have...I just want to try being Oliver Queen." He shrugged, "I don't want to have to lie anymore than I have to and not joining the company will allow me to do that."

"Okay," Thea murmured, "On your head be it."

 **. . .**

The next day, or the next morning, Thea was sat at the podium next to her Mother and Step-Father. She watched with a small smile as Tommy talked to Laurel. She thought that they were making it obvious that something was going on between the pair of them, and she was happy for them, she raised her eyebrows at Tommy as he came and sat next to her.

"You and Laurel, huh?" She whispered and shot him a knowing look.

He flashed the press a smile and placed an arm around her, taking the chance to reply "I've got no idea what you're talking about Speedy."

"Mhmm." She murmured as she copied him and waved to the cameras, Oliver was noticebly absent and she could see the tension radiating off of her Mother. The whole purpose of the ceremony was to honour her Father and introduce Oliver as the new heir but judging by their conversation last night he wasn't planning on following in their Father's footsteps.

She didn't know what he was planning but she doubted it was going to be anything good.

Her Mother's smile was strained and Walter also looked stressed, she knew that they were debating on whether or not to start the ceremony. The press were getting impatient and she could already hear people murmuring about the absensce of the Queen's scion and heir.

"Where is he?" She heard her Mother mutter and watched as Walter tried to reassure her. Walter seemed to come to a descision as he shook his head and took a step towards the microphone.

"Good afternoon." Walter began smoothly, giving them all a warm professional smile, his golden shovel in hand. "And thank you all for coming." He gestured to the building behind him, "Welcome to the future site of the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences Center."

He paused to allow the crowd and media to applaud, Thea grabbed Tommy's hand and he shot her a reassuring look. She understood that she had to be here but the crowd and noise was making her apprehensive.

Especially since Oliver had gone AWOL.

"Now, this is a building that will stand as a monument to the man whose company and vision are his greatest legacies." Tommy squeezed her hand at Walter's statement.

She heard the crowd break into whispers and murmurings and as she looked up she noticed the source of the distruption, her brother - who appeared to be swaying slightly.

She watched as Tommy frowned and squinted at him and she heard numerous people in the crowd mutter about how he was "Drunk," and how he appeared to be "Back to his old self."

Thea bit back the retorts and ignored the part of her that wanted to run over and slap her brother for what he was about to do and the other part wanted to hug him because she knew that this was probably taking it's toll on him.

But she knew that he wasn't drunk and that this was his attempt at making sure that their Mother wouldn't force him into a position at the company.

Her brother had changed, but it seemed he wasn't prepared for the world to know that.

"Woah..woah.." Oliver called out, or more accurately slurred, as he grabbed a glass of champagne and drank it all in one. "What about me...right?" He let out a burst of laughter as he made his way towards them.

"I'm a legacy!" He called out as he stumbled past her, "Hey! Thanks for warming them up Walt!" He clapped Walter on the back, he pretened to nearly drop the shovel that was handed to him and Thea thought that he deserved an oscar for his current performance.

He grunted as he made his way to the podium, "I got it." Placing his hands on the podium to steady himself he shot the crowd a smile before turning back to Walter, "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I got it. I got it." He stage whispered.

Oliver leaned into the microphone and tapped it once, "Some of you may not know me. My name is Oliver Queen." When no one said anything he chuckled and gestured aroud, "Watch some television, read a newspaper, I'm kind of famous right now." He pauses as the cameras clicked and flashed, "Mostly, though, I'm famous because I'm Robert Queen's son."

Thea watched as Walter and her Mom both seemed to wilter as Oliver continued to talk, "Uh, but as Walter, who's my new dad... Huh?" He fake cheered and waited for a reaction, "Who is..." He turned to Walter, "Sorry." Thea didn't know if he was apologising for the new Dad comment or the trying to get a reaction.

"As Walter was saying, I'm not much of a legacy, per se." Her brother exaggerated each word and paused inbetween them, a childish pout flickering across his face as he tried to think of what to say.

Thea thought it was eerily close to the old Oliver when he was drunk, "Oliver, you don't have to do this." Walter tried to intervene but Oliver was having none of it, the man placed a hand on Oliver's back and tried to guide him away - it was as close as he could get to ordering Oliver to stop in front of the press.

"No, sit. Sit!" Reluctantly Walter sat down and Oliver grinned, "Gosh." She watched as he straightened slightly and she sensed he was getting to the point of his little speech, "See, I was supposed to come here today, and I'm supposed to take my rightful place at the company." He gestured around grandly, "Prodigal son returns home and becomes the...the... the heir apparent." He shook his head, "But I'm not my father."

His tone became serious and bordered on angry as he turned to face her, Walter, Tommy and their Mother. " I'm not the man he was...I'm not half the man he was..I never will be." Oliver shoved the shovel into the dirt and faced the press, "So, please, stop asking me to be."

Oliver walked past them and briefly clapped her on the back before jumping down from the podium and stumbling over to Diggle, he clapped the man on the shoulder and the two walked away from the crowd.

The press burst into chatter and cameras flashed madly as they tried to document the event, she watched as Oliver walked away with a sigh before turning to asses the damadge he had caused.

Their Mom looked mortified whilst Walter looked exhausted and disapointed. They were probably both worried about the press and the impact it would have on the company, either way the board of directors would now be strongly against Oliver joining the company after that display.

Tommy looked thoughtful and she thought she saw a bit of pity flash across the man's features.

Thea sighed, she hoped that Oliver was making the right choice.

. . .

 **' Breaking News'** **New evidence incriminates Somers. Martin Somers has confessed to being the one behind the hit on Victor Nocenti. His only daughter and surviving relative has won the court case thanks to Attorney Laurel Lance. There has been speculation over the involvement of the Starling City Vigilante's.**

"Survive."

Thea remembers her Father's final declaration, final statement, his last will and testament. She remembers it all vividly, the way his hand fell as the shot rang out and his head tilted back, the sound of the bullet and hers and Oliver's cries. How she'd stared in horror at her Father, who had been happy and jovial and warm and alive mere days before.

She remembers Oliver grabbing her, a weak attempt to shield her from the sight, his strangled voice telling her to keep his eyes closed as he choked back sobs. The way she heard rustling and looked, what felt like hours later, to see that her brother had wrapped their Father in a makeshift shroud. Using the canopy of the life raft to do so.

Leaving them alone, on a raft, in the middle of the ocean surrounded by the dark abyss that had claimed everything and everyone from them days ago.

She closes her eyes to try and block out the memories as she kneels in front of his grave, it isn't his real one - his real one is on the Island with Shado and Yao Fei, but she would have to make do.

Kneeling down in front of it, looking at hers and Ollie's graves with a small sad smile, she began to speak "We're home..we came back...for you.." Her voice broke slightly, "I wish you hadn't made us do that...do this..what you put on Ollie wasn't fair..." Her brother was older than her and Thea had always seen him as the adult out of the two of them but looking back she knows that Oliver had been a child himself - barely out of his teenage years when the boat had sank. And their Father had decided to put the weight of his sins onto his son's shoulders - a final request that they couldn't deny.

A part of her hated him for it, for his role in what Oliver had been forced to become. "He'll put on that damned hood and save the city...because you asked him to...and he won't stop...and I'm scared-" She clenched her fists, "I'm scared because there's only me to stop him and I'm scared that one day I won't be enough."

It helps, she realises, confessing and spilling her secrets to the wind. On the Island she had visited her Father's grave when she could, had even left some wildflowers there, but she hadn't spoken to him. His death had seemed too raw, too close - knowing that he was lying under those stones and she wasn't.

Sometimes she wishes that it had been the other way around.

"He's pushing everyone away...whatever he's planning on doing at the ceremony...it's not going to end well...Mom's going to hate it." Sighing she pulled herself up, grateful to Tommy for telling her where to find his grave, "Bye Dad...try not to get too mad at Ollie...he's just trying to make you happy."

. . .

Thea Queen made her way to her brother's room, she wasn't surprised to find Oliver there. He was sat at his desk and she sighed as she entered the room. "Mom's mad." She called out finally, "Walter hasn't said anything...the press are eating it up."

"Thought they might," He murmured, "At least this way I don't have to join the Company and Mom doesn't have to keep trying to talk me into it...like the board would let her hire me after that."

"It's freaky how easily you did that," Thea said, "It was just like the old Ollie...probably why everyone believed you."

Oliver looked up at her, "At least we've gotten another name crossed off of the list." He grabbed a pen and flicked through it to find Martin Somers' name, he paused for a second before handing it over to her.

She accepted it with a smile, surprised by the gesture, and crossed off Somers name from the list. She ran a hand through her hair, "There going to take down Dad's grave...I already talked to him...Walter told me to tell you to go say goodbye now if you want to before they take it down."

 **. . .**

Oliver Queen knelt down in front of his Father's grave, it was an empty one and his mind flashed back to the one on the Island - he closed his eyes as he thought about him and what he had told them. His death was what had started it all, he had started their crusade with his final words, his last request. He had the man's list in his hand.

He made sure to keep his voice low, not wanting the workmen to overhear him. "All that time on the island, plotting my return, I didn't realize how hard it would be." Oliver winced as he thought about it, trying to ignore the guilt welling up inside of him. "To reconnect with Mom, Tommy, Laurel." He sighed as he thought about how he'd pushed them all away or hurt them in the short time he'd been back.

"Okay, I didn't... I didn't know how painful it would be to keep my secrets." Oliver didn't know what to do, he was doing what he thought was right but there was still that nagging doubt in the back of his mind telling him that he was wrong. "How painful it would be to make Thea keep them...she's still so young and she's throwing it all away for this." He let out a harsh chuckle as his eyes went misty, "She's still so young...so good...she still has a good heart...despite everything." Shaking his head he continued, "And I'm going to ruin that."

"You asked me to save the city." A part of him hated his Father for it, hated him for placing such a large burden on his and Thea's shoulders. They were both children at the time - she was twelve and he had been seventeen and he had chosen to task them with righting his wrongs. "To right your wrongs...I will...I swear." He let out a heavy sigh, "But to do that, I can't be the Oliver that everyone wants me to be, which means that sometimes...To honor your wishes... I need to dishonor your memory. I'm sorry."

He could feel himself holding back tears as he finally let everything out, he stayed there - crouched in front of the grave for a few more minutes, in silence.

Finally he got up and walked back towards the workmen, nodding at them and gesturing towards the grave, "Take it down."

 **. . .**

 **A/N -** So...hope that went alright...Tommy's suspicious and Thea is divided-ish. Not sure about the "emotional/heart-to-heart" bits or the Therapy sessions as I felt they were a bit forced but who knows maybe you disagree. The flashbacks will be different from here as Thea and Oliver have quite a different experience when it comes to Fyers and his men and Yao Fei. The flashbacks in episode two are quite short and not very action-y.

Sorry this took so long but the chapter deleted itself, I turned my computer off without closing the document (it was saved) and it somehow corrupted the file and caused it to go blank. (Not blank but the text was unviewable)

Thoughts? Still too close to canon? Too boring? Forced? Occ? I'm curious and want to improve.

Not sure if I'm moving too fast with certain things, like Tommy and I might edit certain bits to fix them but hopefully you all enjoyed this! Next chapter should be Wed/Thursday if all goes well.

Thanks for reading!

 **DELETED SCENE(s) -**

 **1\. Tommy confronts Oliver**

Tommy Merlyn watched as his friend walked away with something akin to horror, he knew a drunk Oliver when he saw one and Oliver hadn't been drunk. He had been putting on a good act to the point where he had nearly been fooled himself but he knew Oliver wasn't drunk. The press seemed to have eaten it up and judging by the raised cellphones and mutterings of the crowd everyone else had eaten it up and he wouldn't be surprised if it was already trending on twitter.

He glanced over at the expressions on Walter and Moira's faces and that sent a surge of anger through him, he hurried after his friend and grabbed his arm. "Hey!" Tommy called out, "What was that?" He gestured behind him towards where the conference would be.

Oliver jerked himself free of Tommy's grip, "G-go away Tommy." He slurred and Tommy resisted the urge to slap his friend.

"Cut the crap Ollie," Tommy hissed, "I know you're not drunk...seen you plastered plenty of times and right now you aren't."

Oliver's body sagged and he met his friend's gaze, "I'm sorry." He ran a hand through his hair, "I needed to get my Mom off of my back...needed to get her to stop trying to make me take my 'rightful' place at the company."

"And you thought you'd do that by embarrassing your family?" Tommy asked disbelievingly, "Instead of just talking to her?!"

"I tried!" Oliver muttered back, his eyes darting to Diggle who was watching the fight silently in the background. "She didn't listen."

"Yeah, I bet you tried real hard Ollie." Tommy scoffed, "That was too far...I get it alright? You've been through hell and the last thing you want is to be tied down to an office job...but your Mom would understand that if you gave her a chance." He shook his head and a grimace flashed across his face, "That-" He waved towards where Moira and Walter were, "That was too far...seriously...I think you went too far Ollie."

Oliver opened his mouth to protest but Tommy found that he didn't want to listen to his friend's excuses, otherwise he'd end up decking his friend or saying something that he'd regret. Turning on his heel he walked away and left Oliver behind him.

 **2\. Deleted Scene, Laurel confronts Lance instead of Oliver**

Quentin shook his head and his expression clouded over, "No..your job is protecting her and her brother." He jerked his thumb towards Thea and she frowned, "It seems like whenever a Queen is with a daughter of mine they get hurt...I had hoped you wouldn't be following in your brothers footsteps Thea."

"Dad!" Laurel called out, clearly outraged at the way her Father was talking to Thea, "Stop it!"

Quentin looked at his daughter with a shocked expression, his gaze shifted between her and Thea. "Her brother is the reason _your_ sister is **dead**!" He jerked a finger in Thea's direction, "Everytime a Queen shows up someone from our family dies...or leaves...I'm not going to lose you too...I'm not going to let another Queen cost me another child!"

"Thea did not kill Sara! Oliver did not kill Sara! Hell, Sara didn't kill Sara!" She yelled, letting out everything she had bottled up for months, "It was a freak accident! And yes she screwed up and so did Ollie! But it was a freak accident! I'm with Thea because she's my friend and like a little sister so me..." Her tone softened and Thea had to strain to hear it, "I'm not going to lose another one just because you can't get past the fact that you blame yourself! You blame yourself and so you blame them...it wasn't your fault Dad...it wasn't anyone's."

Quentin opened and closed his mouth several times before shaking his head and storming off leaving a shocked Thea and an emotionally exhausted Laurel behind him.

"You didn't have to do that." Thea murmured.


	5. Lone Gumen (1)

**|Ghosts That We Knew|**

 **. Lone Gunmen .**

 **(1)**

 **A/N -** Couldn't find a transcript so this is me typing up what I saw during the episode so things may be wrong, not sure. Anyways, hope you all enjoy this! On the plus side this is probably my favourite one to write the flashbacks for, so far, as it's where they diverge from the show for Thea's parts which also meant that there was double the number of flashbacks that there would have been.

Still very stuck on what to do about the later Vertigo parts in other episodes as I don't see this Thea as the type to go out, get high and drive a car but Oliver's whole crusade against 'The Count' and Vertigo was because of that. So those episodes are probably going to be _very_ different. Annoying as most of the butterfly effects are easier to show later on as these episodes are setting up the series and everything 'major' especially to do with Thea's evolution/change from a kid to a killer would have happened during the second year and onwards so I'm trying to work out the best way to show that during the super early episodes but not to much avail. Best thing I can think of is I stop following the episodes and just keep major plot points but that would make it even longer between updates.

Could do it with Tommy but I don't want to just shove his character into a hole, would only do it with him if it made sense.

Going to break chapters into two parts in the hopes of that improving the chapters.

Also I'm a GCSE student who is about to have nineteen exams back to back so I probably won't be updating that much until exams are finished (they during the start/middle of June) but then I have about fourteen weeks of nothing so I'll be updating a lot then.

 **. . .**

* * *

Thea stood in the foundry alongside Oliver, she picked up her bow from the munitions box and check to see if it had any damage from last weeks encounter with China and Somers. He was shirtless and working out on the bars, doing sit ups and pull ups - she tended to use the salmon ladder and spar with her brother to keep her fitness up.

He preferred the full on workout, she knew that he'd picked up most of his training and workout routines from his time at the Bratva whilst most of her's was based from what she had learnt from Slade and Shado.

She made her way over to his computer and looked to see who he was considering going after next, "James Holder?" As she read the various news articles she felt sick - the man was responsible for so many deaths because he had decided to put profit before the lives of the people in the Glades.

Oliver made his way over to his makeshift lifting machine, he had tied up blocks of concrete to the ropes and pulleys - he grunted and groaned as he pulled the wire and the blocks rose - she winced as she watched him pull the weights, she had only been able to do two blocks and for half of the time of Oliver's time.

He pulled the chain taught and waited for a second before letting them all drop, she flinched at the sudden noise. She jumped up from his workstation and grabbed him a towel, tossing it over to him and watching as he dried himself off. "He installed faulty...ineffective smoke detectors in low-income housing in the Glades." He trailed off as he shook his head, "There have been so many fires and deaths."

"And so we're going to pay this guy a visit?" She checked as her brother started to move towards his bow.

"I think that we need to make him pay for what he's done." Oliver muttered as he picked up his bow and his jacket and began to suit up.

 **. . .**

Thea stood on the building opposite Holder's penthouse, she snickered at the image of the man in a bathrobe, she was waiting for Oliver to take out the man's security whilst she introduced herself to Holder. He was drinking a beer as he talked into his phone, "Heh...other than the bill I got handed this morning by my legal team, I'm feeling pretty good." He chuckled, "Plus now that this lawsuit's been settled, we can focus our attention on Unidac Industries."

She frowned, that name sounded familiar.

"-Okay...I'll see you in the office first thing." He cut the connection and tossed the phone onto a poolside couch, the man spun around and looked out at the skyline she watched as his raised the bottle to take another drink when she fired off an arrow - shattering the bottle and causing the glass to splinter.

She jumped down from her position and faced the man, her bow raised and an arrow pointing towards his chest.

"I-I have armed security inside!" He threatened, "All I have to do is call out!"

A voice called out from behind him, it was Oliver, "Go ahead...they can't hear you." He tossed the two guns he had taken from the men towards Holder, he made his way over to Thea and stood next to her, raising his boy in turn.

"What the hell do you want?" The man called out desperately.

"How many people died in those fires?" Thea growled.

When he didn't respond her brother stood a step forwards. "How many!? The courts say you don't your victims anything, I disagree." He raised his bow and notched an arrow, "James Holder you-"

Before he could finish and before either of them could react a shot rang out and a wound appeared on Holder's chest, blood staining his bathrobe and she watched as he crumpled and fell into the pool. Staining the water.

They both spun around and started to fire off arrows towards where the bullet had came from, she and Oliver both jumped downwards and ducked for cover as bullets started to ring out - the mystery shooter was fighting back.

One pierced a vase and another a wall.

Thea looked back to see Holder's body falling down to the bottom of the pool.

She looked at Oliver's arm in alarm as they both hid behind cover, "You're hit." He looked at his arm and his eyes widened - she looked up from where she had been hiding to see if she could get a glimpse of the shooter.

It went silent and she assumed that the shooter had disappeared, using the distraction of shooting Oliver to get away.

"Can you walk?" Thea questioned, he grunted in response as he got to his feet. Shrugging off her arm and hobbling towards the edge of the roof, she watched as he fired off an arrow and jumped down from the ledge.

Thea rolled her eyes and followed after him, she'd have to patch him up once they'd gotten to the foundry.

 **. . .**

Once they were back in the Foundry Thea hurried towards one of their trunks and took out their medical kit, it was as well equipped as an army one and had cost them an arm and a leg. She shot Oliver a glare as he moved to take the kit off of her. "You." She jerked a finger at him and then moved it so that it was pointing towards his desk chair, "Sit...I'll sort that."

She frowned at how pale he looked, he didn't even offer up a response - whilst Oliver was the kind to deal with pain through silence and acting all tough rather than taking her approach of swearing in a various assortment of languages in an effort to relive pain.

They both hated sedatives and pain relief and stayed away from it until absoluetely necessary.

Threading the eye of the needle she placed it down on the desk and got a pair of tongss, wiping at the bulletwound with a cotton pad before pulling out the bullet. She winced in sympathy, the only thing that hurt more than a bullet going in was a bullet coming out.

He grunted as it came out, "Don't be a baby." She muttered halfheartedly - trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Here's the fun part." She murmured, keeping up a commentary in an attempt to comfort herself. Grabbing some hydrogen peroxide she dabbed at and cleaned the wound, trying to be as gentle as possible. She knew that he had been through worse but it didn't mean that she wanted to make it any worse than it had to be.

She checked that the needle was clean before stitching his wound up, watching as the gaping wound started to close up. Taking a step back to examine her work she nodded to herself, happy with it.

"It's not a surprise he had enemies...with how corrupt he was...we need to-" He cut himself off and shook his head - squinting as if something was clouding his vision. She looked at him with a concerned expression at the sudden stop.

A uncomfortable expression flashed across his face, his skin seemed sweatier and clammier than it had before and Thea started to panic. Had she missed something? Oliver got up from where he had been sitting down at the desk and stumbled, her hands darted out to steady him and they shared twin looks of horror as they came to the same realisation.

If it had taken this long for something to happen then it was probably something that took time to work, something like Poison. And judging by her brother's reaction it was a serious one.

She grabbed a water bottle off of the desk and watched as Oliver practically slid to the munitions crate, crashing to the ground. He undid the lock and flung open the lid to the crate, he pulled out the bag of herbs and stuffed some of them into his mouth.

She tossed over the bottle and watched as he washed them down, hopefully Yao Fei's herbs would be strong enough to combat whatever was in Oliver's system.

He collapsed to the floor, unconscious and Thea sighed. She knew that the herbs worked best when the person was unconscious so she was going to have to wait for him to wake up as she didn't feel like going back to the Mansion without him.

Their Mother was so going to kill them.

She grabbed her bow and used her brother's tennis ball machine to get in some target practice, she might as well do something other than sitting around twiddling her thumbs whilst her brother's body tried to heal itself.

 **. . .**

 _Oliver opened his eyes as he groaned in pain, his eyes were drawn to the arrow sticking out of his shoulder, the blood had dried and he let out a pained cry. He struggled to get up from the ground and sit up. He froze as another man entered the cave, the man who shot him, his eyes darted around the cave and he slumped against the rock in relief - Thea wasn't here._

 _Hopefully that meant she was safe._

 _The man had a scraggly beard, long stingy black hair and his face was hidden slightly behind a green hood. He carried a bow in his hand and a quiver full of arrows on his back._

 _"W-Who are you?" Oliver questioned fearfully, "Why did you shoot me?"_

 _The man tilted his head at Oliver before kneeling down in front of him, "Bǎohù nǐ [To protect you]" He replied and Oliver shook his head - not understanding the man. The man held out a bowl full of water and he had a handful of herbs. He spoke again, "Hē zhège [Drink]"_

 _Hesitantly he reached out for the herbs with trembling hands, his eyes darting back to the man as if to check he was doing the right thing, he placed some of the herbs into his mouth and gagged at the acrid taste._

 _He accepted the bowl of water from the man and washed the herbs down, a part of him wondered why the man was helping him - he had shot him, caused him to split away from his sister._

 _Oliver opened his mouth to question the man but before he could speak the man grabbed the arrow and started to pull it out from his shoulder - he cried out as the pain rippled through him like a tidal wave._

 _His screams echoed throughout the cave._

 **. . .**

Thea spun around on the chair as she watched Oliver wake up, his eyes flickered open and he groaned as he got up from where he had been lying on the ground. He rubbed at his head and shifted, grunting as the movement knocked his wound and sent a burning pain through his shoulder and arm.

"Morning!" She called out, watching him carefully. He seemed to be better than before, his skin wasnt as clammy and the colour had returned to his face.

"W-What's the time?" He muttered.

She eyed up the time in the corner of the computer screen, she had practiced her archery and knife throwing for a couple of hours - before eventually, exhausted, she crashed in his chair and browsed the internet.

Turns out that Tommy had had quite a colourful time during their first year of being gone and the press had loved it. Her heart had ached at the photos of a strung out Tommy, she knew that he and Oliver had dabbled with drugs but never anything hard or strong. It seemed that Tommy had gotten into the harder drugs for a period of time whilst they were away.

At least he seemed to be past that now, he had seemed a lot better when she saw him in Hong-Kong and Starling City than the person in the tabloid photos.

"Ten past seven," She called back, "You've been gone..nine hours? And I've been gone about six."

"How long was I out for?" He questioned.

She paused for a second to work it out, "You were unconscious for three."

"Dammit." Oliver thought about that and groaned as he imagined how their Mother was reacting to her children's disappearance. He had ditched Diggle during dinner whilst Thea had slipped out later on during the night whilst everybody in the Mansion was hopefully asleep. Although her absence had probably been noticed by now.

He picked up his jacket from where it was lying on top of one of the crates and shoved it on, "Guess we better go face the music."

 **. . .**

When they got back to the Mansion they were greeted by the sight of a distressed looking Moira talking to two police-men whilst Walter placed a soothing arm around her. Diggle was stood off to the side and Tommy was sat on the sofa with his head in his hands and Thea frowned as she tried to work out what exactly was going on.

"Oh thank god!" A voice called out and she looked up to see Tommy running towards them both, he pulled her into and hug and she shared an alarmed look with Oliver.

"Tommy?" She questioned as she pulled herself out of his grip, "What's wrong? What happened?"

He shot her a disbelieving look at that and turned to look at her Mom, "You disappeared! We didn't know where either of you were...Raisa found your bed empty and then we found out that Oliver ditched his bodyguard last night...we didn't know what was going on."

Oliver and Thea watched as their Mother sighed and turned to the policemen, "It appears the situation is resolved...thank you for your time."

Walter nodded and shook the two cops hands, "Thank you, officers...my Wife and I appreciate it." The man looked back at Moira, "I'll show you both out." He placed a hand on one of the men's backs as he guided them out of the living room.

"I thought you said that you'd stop this," Their Mother turned to Oliver with an accusatory tone, "You told me that you'd take Diggle with you...what if something happened? What if you had gotten hurt? Where were you?!" Her voice broke slightly and Thea winced, it seemed that their Mother had been worried about them. "You can't be this reckless."

She hated being the cause of that, she hated making them feel the way they did. Thea also felt a pang of sympathy for her brother, he would have been back but he'd gotten shot - curare wasn't something you just walked off.

It was a miracle that he had waken up when he had.

"Mom.." Oliver began, "I'm sorry...I just didn't feel like being watched...I lost track of time...I'm really sorry." He apologised weakly, unable to come up with a proper excuse. A part of him wished he could tell them the truth and explain why he had disappeared, what he had been doing but he couldn't risk putting them in danger. And a selfish part of him didn't want them to know what he had become, the monster he had become, he wanted to be the person that they wanted him to be. They didn't see him as a monster, just a delinquent.

He'd rather them be ashamed of him than afraid of him.

Their Mother ran a hand through her hair, "I'm glad that your home and that your safe but I wish you'd stop doing this...I only want what's best for you and after that display at the awards ceremony you are making it harder and harder to help you." She sighed and looked at Thea, as if debating whether or not to question her about her whereabouts. She seemed to decide that she didn't have the energy and walked out of the room.

Oliver leaned against the wall of the room, his bullet wound was still hurting and despite his hours of unconciousness he was exhausted. Tommy looked between Thea and Oliver, "So where were you Thea? Whilst Oliver was having his revendeous."

"I just went for a run...I couldn't sleep," Thea hated having to lie to him and she hated what she was about to do, "On the Island we didn't just sleep for long periods of time...it wasn't safe...I couldn't just lie there and do nothing so I went for a run." She shot him an apologetic smile, "I didn't think...I'm sorry Tommy...I promise I'll let someone know next time but I'd assumed you'd all be asleep when I got back."

Tommy looked between the pair of them, Thea wondered if he believed her and if he didn't what exactly he was going to do. She hated lying to everyone especially Tommy, he was like a brother to her but if he knew the truth he'd be in danger.

It'd be like painting a target on his back.

Tommy paused at the door of the room and called out to Oliver, "You look like crap...by the way."

She watched as Tommy walked away with a pained expression, wondering how long it was going to take for Tommy and her Mother to forgive them. She understood why they were so worried, they had lost them for five years, it wasn't a surprise they wanted to make sure that they didn't loose them again.

But she couldn't tell them the truth, she just wished that their crusade didn't hurt everybody around them.

"Did you have a nice evening sir?" Diggle asked dryly once Tommy had left.

Oliver winced, "You mean after I ditched you at dinner after saying I had to pee?"

"I suppose from now on sir I'll have to stand there and watch you pee." Diggle commented before leaving the room.

A part of Thea wondered why the man didn't just quit right then and there.

 **. . .**

 _Thea ran through the dense jungle of the Island, her eyes scanning the area around her desperately. The image of her brother getting shot with an arrow on repeat in her head - she had left him! She had left her brother and now he was probably dead. He was probably dead just like her Father, just like everyone else on the Yatch._

 _She ached everywhere and the soles of her feet were covered in cuts and nicks from the rough jungle floor - making running painful. But she had to get away, she wasn't prepared to let the bad man get her too, she didn't want to die too._

 _Whimpering slightly_ _she leaned against a tree and tried to catch her breath, she was terrified, she was finding it hard to keep running but she was too scared to stop for longer than a couple of minutes._

 _She stumbled as she tried to run and she let out another whimper as she went crashing down to the ground, the harsh floor of the jungle scraping her skin. She was only wearing shorts, a shirt and a denim jacket. Thea didn't know what she was meant to do._

 _She had seen Island survival shows and had watched an episode of Lost once with Tommy and Oliver but she wasn't like those people. She didn't want to be. She wanted to be back home in her bed with her Mom and her Dad and Ollie._

 _Now she didn't even know where she was._

 _Her vision clouded over as tears filled her eyes and Thea let herself cry, cry for her Father and her brother and everyone else who had been on the Yatch. For her Mom who had just lost everything._

 _For herself._

 **. . .**

Oliver and Thea were back in the foundry, running tests on the bullet that had poisoned her brother. Her brother was running the tests on the bullet whilst she looked for any similar killings on the internet. "It's curare.." He called out as he watched the chemicals fizz once they came into contact with his blood, "So the bullet was poisoned with it."

Thea nodded in understanding, "And that'll be the killer's unique MO." She called out with a grin as she started to type and search through various records, "Should be here somewhere.." She pulled up a bunch of different databases and looked for any record of poison bullets.

"It's a rare and deadly poison...hard to manufacture...there can't be many people who use that." Oliver said as he moved over towards her and looked at the screen over her shoulder, "Try Interpol."

Of course! She internally cursed at herself for not checking sooner, she had limited herself to National databases not International ones. "Here! Deadshot...sniper...he has a long _long_ rap sheet."

"Corto Maltese...Chicago...Markovia.." Oliver rattled off as he read the file, "They don't know who he is?"

"Nope." She shook her head, "Hence the nickname...'Deadshot'...not the most creative one in the world but it's alright."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged in response, he continued as if she hadn't spoken "This man is dangerous...Holder...was harmless." He kept reading the file Interpol had on him, "This man has no honour, no code, no morality...he doesn't kill for justice."

"Which makes him our top priority." She finished for him. Oliver was right, by killing him the sniper had ensured that Holder's victims never got their money or any sort of justice. Plus there was no guarantee that Deadshot would stop with Holder.

They couldn't have anyone like that running around in Starling City.

Oliver turned to her, "I need to talk to Tommy about our new business venture...do you want to hang around here or-" He trailed off uncertainly, leaving up to Thea what exactly she'd want to do.

Thea shrugged, "Therapy isn't until tomorrow..so I guess I have some free time on my hands..." She thought about it for a second and decide to pay a visit to Laurel Lance. The CNRI office was in the Glades and she guessed it should be easy enough to find.

Worst comes to worst she could hail a cab and ask them to take her there.

"I better go back to the Mansion and find Diggle then."

 **. . .**

Oliver led Diggle and Tommy through the upper level of the Foundry, he had came to a decision about what exactly he was going to do with his time. He had to find some sort of job or occupation to keep his Mother off of his back and so that he'd have some kind of alibi for his nighttime activities.

So he had went with the most 'Oliver Queen' business venture he could think of; running a Nightclub. "So? What do you think?" He called out as he gestured around at the empty building.

He grinned at Tommy, "Great spot for a nightclub or not?"

"Sweet! Tommy muttered as he looked around the room, the ideas already forming inside of his head, "Though if you're going to call it Queen's then I doubt you'll get the clientele you were hoping for." Oliver chuckled, he wasn't planning on making a strip club or a gay club - he just needed somewhere to serve as his base of operations and to hide his nighttime activities.

Oliver pointed towards an upper level, where the foremen and his Father's offices had been, "Private office." He suggested with a small smirk. He was glad that Tommy seemed to have forgiven him for what had happened earlier, although he could feel the slight tension that still remained.

"For the private one-on-one meetings, I would imagine." Tommy guessed with a smile, a part of Oliver wondered if that was how Tommy really saw him. A rich arrogant playboy who only thought about women and alcohol. If he did then he only had himself to blame, he was working really hard to make the world think that.

Thea had suggested he had been working a little _too_ hard on that.

Without missing a beat Oliver joked back, "Hopefully the occasional two-on-two meetings." Adding a wink for effect. He had missed the easygoing banter between him and Tommy.

Tommy laughed at the joke before spinning around and turning to face Oliver, "Man...are you sure you wanna do this?" He asked with an expression that was starting to grow more serious, "It's not like you have any experience in running a-well.." He chuckled, "Running anything."

"How about tomorrow night, the two of us, we go and scope out the competition?" Oliver tilted his head as he started to consider it, "A new club opened downtown...it's called Poison...Max Fuller opened it." Tommy told him and Oliver winced at the mention of the name.

"Max Fuller?" Oliver checked.

Tommy nodded, "Mhmm."

"I slept with his fiance." Oliver pointed out with a grimace as he thought back to that day.

Tommy shrugged and laughed as he remembered that day, "Yeah..before the Wedding." He defended weakly.

"It was the rehearsal dinner." Oliver reminded him with a laugh.

"The rehearsal dinner is technically before the Wedding, right?" Tommy joked, "And besides who stays mad at a Castaway." His phone rang and he checked the screen, his expression grew serious before he plastered the grin back on. Piquing Oliver's interest about who it was on the other line. "Ah...dammit...I gotta roll...anyways see you later man!" He started to move out of the Foundry, "Good place!" Tommy yelled as he left.

Oliver waited until Tommy was gone before he turned to Diggle with a curious expression, "So..what do you think?"

Diggle paused thoughtfully before speaking, "Well...I'm here to provide security, sir, not a commentary."

"Oh, come on, Dig." Oliver pleaded earnestly, "Do me a favour...speak freely...please?"

Diggle took a moment to compose his words, Oliver noted that the man never wasted them or said something without thinking - it was a good quality for someone to have. "Well, this is the Glades right?" He gestured around them, "Your rich white friends wouldn't come here on a bet."

Oliver wondered if Dig was right before shooting the man his trademark smirk, "I **am** Oliver Queen, right?" He grinned and raised his eyebrows suggestively, "People would stand around for three hours if I opened a club."

Diggle sighed, not looking impressed or convinced, "And no one who lives in the Glades would actually see a penny of those cover charges."

"So.." Oliver continued, "We make it a successful business and we gentrify the neighborhood." He was surprised to hear Diggle let out a scoff at that, he waited for Dig to explain what he thought.

"I was wondering when we'd get to that." Diggle muttered, "The white Knight swooping in to save the disenfranchised...and all by his lonesome with no help from anybody."

"Wow!" Oliver said with mock-hurt, "You really don't think very much of me do you?"

Diggle smirked and shook his head, "No sir...I have a very high regard for how perceptive you are..." He exaggerated his final word, "Sir..."

Oliver tried to hold back a grin as he watched Diggle walk away before turning around and surveying the former Factory. The nightclub would be the perfect cover for his activities, he wasn't sure how to find a way to use it to cover for Thea though.

Diggle's words were caught on in his head, he did want to help the Glades. Maybe he could find a way to use the nightclub to do it as 'Oliver Queen' as well as helping them as the 'Hood'

 **. . .**

Thea Queen made her way through the CNRI offices, ignoring the confused looks the people there kept shooting her, she had assured the receptionist that she was there to visit a friend and had been forced to remind the woman of the fact that it was not _her_ that had upset or offended Laurel.

That was her pig-headed, playboy brother in his more arrogant days.

She made her way to what she hoped was the right place and grinned as she spotted Laurel and the woman who had been with her at the courthouse, arriving in time to hear the tail-end of their conversation "-since the only physical relationship you've had since Oliver is with his best friend."

Her eyes went wide and she silently congratulated herself on guessing that, "I knew it!" She called out with a smirk, that smirk only widening as Laurel and her friend turned around with twin looks of horror on their faces.

"Thea!" Laurel called out, clearly alarmed, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," Thea replied before waving at Laurel's friend, "Uh..I'm Thea Queen...I remember seeing you at the courthouse but I don't remember your name...sorry." She held out her hand and hoped that the woman would be friendlier towards her than she had been towards her brother.

"Joanna De La Vega," The woman shook Thea's hand and smiled at her. "I was just trying to convince Laurel to go out and have some fun."

"You should," Thea shrugged when Laurel's eyes widened at her, "You work harder than anyone...it wouldn't hurt for you to have a break."

"I've been busy!" Laurel protested weakly, not liking the fact she was being ganged up on by two of her friends.

Joanna picked up a leaflet from a nearby desk and waved it in the air victoriously, "And that is going to stop tonight! We are going out...we are going to have a good time and we are going to get very drunk! We could try Jergens depos...or anywhere...I don't care but you need to come with me!" Joanna somehow managed to make a plead seem like an order.

"I've heard that 'Poison' is meant to be good," Thea suggested as a plan started to formulate in her head - maybe if Laurel bumped into Tommy and Oliver she would actually tell Oliver about hers and Tommy's relationship.

Laurel looked at her with raised eyebrows, "And how do you know that?"

"I've got my finger on the pulse round here." She grinned before her tone and expression became more serious, "And before you start begging me...I won't tell Ollie about you and Tommy _because_ I think you should do it yourself." Thea paused to let Laurel think about what she had said, "Anyways...how about you show me round?" She gestured to the office. She had some time to kill and she was curious about Laurel's line of work.

"Still can't believe you actually became a Lawyer." At Laurel's offended look she quickly backtracked, "I always pegged you as the bad ass vigilante cop type."

Laurel shrugged, "You don't have to go outside the law to enforce the law." Privately Thea disagreed with that as without her and her brother Adam Hunt and Somers would be living it up in Starling City but she supposed Quentin had rubbed off on his daughter.

Joanna chuckled, "Come see me after the tour Laurel...we need to sort your outfit for tonight." The woman smiled at Thea before walking back over to her desk, calling out over her shoulder "I told you that you didn't have a choice! Bring the kid round more...maybe then we can bully you into actually having some fun!"

A part of Thea bristled at being called a 'kid' but otherwise kept her mouth shut, allowing Laurel to guide her back towards another room "And this is-" Thea nodded as Laurel started to tell her about CNRI.

 **. . .**

Oliver Queen surveyed the area next to Holder's penthouse, he was on the streets surrounding it and he headed towards where the bullets appeared to have came from. The bullet Thea had taken out of his arm was only fragment - he needed a full bullet that wasn't covered in blood.

Three shots had rang out, one hit him, one hit a Penthouse wall whilst another had hit the wall of the building behind the penthouse. Which meant that somewhere there was a bullet that he could find and use to his advantage.

He thought out the trajectory and tried to work out where it would have landed, he looked up and something caught his eye. A small silver glint. The bullet.

Checking that there was nobody around he jumped into action, using the piping to make his way up the side of the building before jumping onto a ledge - being careful to not fall onto the street below he pulled out a knife from his boot and cut out the bullet from the hole it had made inside of the concrete.

He placed the bullet into his pocket and made his way back down the side of the building, planning on examining it inside the Foundry.

He needed to find something on Deadshot if he was going to stop the man from killing anyone else.

 **. . .**

Oliver sat in the Foundry as he ran the ballistics on the bullet, it was a specific type of round and he tried to find out who had recently bought them. The bullet had been a 7.26 mm round and the money trail seemed to lead back to the Russian Mob - the Bratva.

He smiled at that, Anatoli had been right - getting the tattoo was going to come in handy. Grabbing his notebook out of the trunk he checked to see who was the Bratva in Starling and where they were located - he grabbed his rockets baseball cap and hurried out.

Time to go pay a visit to Alexsi Leonov.

...

Keeping his head low and his cap firmly pulled down Oliver made his way towards a Russian Auto-repair shop. He made his way inside and eyed up the room for any potential threats, the men were most likely armed if they were Bratva but he could easily disarm them, two men were currently working on an old Mustang and there seemed to be no customers.

Not that he had expected it to be busy, the shop was most likely a front after all.

"Ya ischu Aleski Leonov." He called out in lieu of a greeting.

The elder man, rough looking and judging by the way the other man turned to him - he was in charge, "There's no one here by that name."

Oliver shook his head and moved closer to the man, "Ne v vashem garazhe, va podvale pod." That caught their attention, the bald man gestured to the man under the car and he moved threateningly towards Oliver brandishing a gun.

He quickly disarmed the man, using one hand to knock him off balance and get him onto his knees and the other hand to take the gun. He disarmed it and tossed it aside, looking at the older man expectantly.

He pulled down the collar of his shirt to show the man the Bratva tattoo on his chest, "Ya Bratva." He announced before his tone became firmer "Ya khochu videt..Alexi Leonov."

The bald man gave Oliver a short bow, "Pleased to meet you." He said in English and Oliver inclined his head in return. He knew not to bow as he was of a higher rank than the man.

They led him through the back and down the stairs to the real base of operations, the headquaters of all Bratva activity in Starling City. "I apologise," Alexi said, "We meant no disrespect to a Captain...paticularly an American one."

He could hear the silent question of 'How did an American become captain?' and he used that to his advantage. For a forigner to become a Capitain he must have done something major, which he did, that fear and respect could work to his advantage.

"So?" The man asked, "How can I be of assistance?"

"I'm in the market for a hired gun." Oliver stated, "Someone the orginisation's used before..his calling card is a 7.62 milimeter round and bullets laced with curare."

Alexi shook his head, "I know no man who uses such tools."

"But you can find out who does," Oliver countered knowing that the Bratva had the tools to find what he was looking for.

Alexi nodded in agreement with the statement before pulling out a bottle of Vodka and two shots, "First we will drink to eachothers health, then I will look into the identity of the man you seek."

Oliver accepted the glass and drank the shot, feeling the all familiar burn of the Vodka as he drank it.

"I will also confirm that you are really Bratva captain," Alexi said with a toothy smile, "Should this not be the case, I will send any mechanic here to find you and kill you and your family." He indicated to the second man wo had taken position on the flght of stairs.

Inwardly he scoffed, he had already disarmed one of the men with ease why would he struggle with another one? But there was no point worrying or laughing about it, his identity would be verified soon enough and then he would get what he had came for.

He nodded shortly to Alexi and the man behind him before exiting the repair shop.

 **...**

Thea sat inside of the Mansion alongside Walter and her Mother, she had dropped by to grab some of her things and see if she could find Tommy anywhere and instead she had watched as Detective Lance and Hilton, could they seriously not send someone who didn't hate her family? Interviewed Walter, although it was starting to feel more like an interrogation.

"It's a great loss," Walter said, "Carl was a titan."

Thea's head perked up at that, there had been another shooting. They had been right, Deadshot wasn't going to just stop at Holder. She moved further into the room and took a seat next to her Mother, trying not to look too interested in what the Detectives were saying.

"A titan who was looking to buy out a company called Unidac Industries?" Hilton questioned as he scanned his notes.

Walter thought about it for a second before responding in his clear British accent, "Well Industries are something of a misnomer." He explained, "UI's recent activity was looking into alternative energy."

Lance let out a huff, "I think the point my partner was trying to make that this Carl Rasmussen was the second bidder this week to lose his life." Lance cut in bitingly, failing to keep the accusation out of his tone.

Both Thea and Moira bristled at that and Moira shot Lance a sharp look, "Are you implying something Detective?" She asked archly, daring the Detective to say his accusation outright.

Thea thought over what they were saying, there was a link between the victims. That also apparently tied into Water, and since she highly doubted Walter was financing the killings, that meant he was a potential target.

"Well only that your husband is looking into buying Unidac Industries and the competition seems to be dropping like flies." Lance pointed out.

Thea had had enough, "And I'm sure that accusation has nothing to do with your hatred for Oliver and by extension his family...not at all Detective." She bit back looking annoyed.

Walter cut in before the situation could escalate, "Unidac's in recivership Detective." Watler said smoothly, his tone never rising "Ownership is subject to a liquidation auction, so that means there are many prospective buyers." He let out a forced chuckle, "And the auction's tomorrow so if I was taking out the competition I'd have a lot of killing to do in a very short space of time." He finished dryly.

"We're just making the rounds with the interested buyers," Hilton said as he tried to ease the tension in the room, "Let them know to be careful."

"Oh yes," Moira said with raised eyebrows and a disbelieving expression, "And I'm overwhealmed that Detective Lance is concerned for our safety."

Thea glared daggers at Lance, sorely tempted to throw a literal dagger in his direction.

"Well thank you for your concern gentlemen," Walter said with a nod, he nodded towards Diggle who was standing in the doorway "Our security consultant, Mr Diggle, is taking all of the necessary precautions."

"Yeah." Lance scoffed, "Right." He slapped his knees and rose with a huff, "Well if you need us!" He spat out with false cheer, "We're just a 911 call away." Hilton pulled the man away whilst her Mother shook her head in exasperation at the man's actions.

Thea leaned in towards Walter, "Why do they keep sending him here? It does nothing but cause fights."

"I believe that's why Thea," Walter intoned dryly, "Lance has, understandable, animosity towards this family...especially since you and your brother came back...I believe coming here and lashing out is his..unhealthy...way of dealing with that anger and grief."

She sighed and wondered why Walter had to be so understanding, she hadn't ever seen the man raise his voice nd she'd been back for close to a month.

 **. . .**

Later that evening, Oliver and Tommy made their way into the nightclub 'Poison' Diggle was following dutifully after them. The bouncer looked up at them and undid the chain, letting them through without a second thought, when Diggle moved to follow the bouncer closed the chain and eyed him up impassively.

Tommy clapped Oliver on the shoulder, "Ha! Ha! Oh my this is going to be a killer." Tommy exclaimed as he eyed up the club around him.

"If Max sees me here I agree," Oliver muttered dryly, certain that the night was going to end badly if Fuller laid eyes on him.

"Ah," Tommy grinned, "If you want to run a business you've gotta take a few risks."

"I don't see your name on the list." The bouncer stated to Diggle as he tried to follow after Oliver and Merlyn.

Diggle sighed and called out to Oliver, "Mr Queen!"

Oliver spun around at the sound of his name and hurried back over to his bodyguard and the bouncer, "Oh!" He said jovially - grinning from ear to ear, "I have never seen this guy in my life before ever."

He winked at Diggle, who looked ready to quit then and there, before walking back over to Tommy and the duo made their way through the club. It was dim and smoky, filled with the sound of music and laughter. The loud noise made Oliver flinch and he forced himself to remember just where exactly he was - a nightclub, not the Island or Hong-Kong or Russia.

He was just at a stupid nightclub with his best friend.

Tommy eyed up the women dancing but Oliver noticed that his heart didn't seem to be in it, he wondered if that was because of Laurel or some other reason. Then Tommy called out as he noticed one of the women start to head towards the bar, "Oh..wow!"

Oliver looked at the person who'd caught Tommy's attention, Laurel. Tommy continued as the grin on his face got wider and wider, "Doesn't you going out and having fun violate some kind of law, you know, like the ones that are carved on a stone tablet."

Laurel shot him a mock-glare and rolled her eyes, "That's cute Tommy." She eyed up Oliver, "I see you two are up to your old hunting patterns." She noted wryly as she looked at the multitude of women and alcohol.

"Just seeing what passes for fun in Starling City after five years." He replied with a smile.

"Ah." Laurel chuckled, "Well I'm sure you'll find that it just hasn't been the same without you." Her last words had a biting edge and Oliver flinched slightly, things were still tense and Oliver suppressed a wince. It was naive of him to think that Laurel would just forgive and forget everything that had happened over the past five years.

He still wanted to try to make it up to her though.

Oliver opened his mouth to start talking again when a voice from behind them cut him off, "Well...well...look at this..Oliver Queen."

He turned around to see the one person he had wanted to avoid, "Max Fuller." He greeted as he plastered on a smile, "How you been?"

Max pretend to consider it, "Happy you drowned." He deadpanned and the smile disappeared off of Oliver's face. The man then gestured for his two bouncers to follow him and help escort Oliver out of the club.

When they arrived in a backroom Oliver turned around, "Hey Max-" He began but Max quickly cut him off with a blow to Oliver's jaw. Oliver let himself fall to the ground, using his hands to control the landing. He clenched his fist in an attempt to keep himself calm and in control, he could easily fight back or snap Max's neck and he would barely break a sweat but he couldn't do that. Not here. Not in public.

Taking a deep breath he ignored the fact that every part of him was screaming for him to fight back especially as he was pulled to his feet by the bouncers "Hey! Get him to his feet!" They roughly pulled him up and made a move to start forcing him out of the club when Tommy ran through.

"Hey, let him go!" Tommy called out as he tried to pull them away from Oliver, when he realised he was too weak to do that he pushed past them and tried to appear threatening as he squared up to the bouncers. "Hey! I said let him go!"

Max rolled his eyes at Tommy's protests and so did the club's bouncers, "Back off Merlyn!" He ordered, "This isn't your problem."

"You want to get to him?" Tommy jerked his head towards Oliver and took a step towards Fuller's goons, "You've got to get through me." He let out a sharp breath and turned to Oliver with an uneasy grin, "Wow...they are probably going to get through me." Tommy then decided not to let the goons throw the first punch, he raised his fist and swung - knocking one of the bouncers back.

Oliver's eyes widened in surprise as Tommy threw the first punch, recognizing that a fight was going to start. He went after the other bouncer and tried to keep his true skills hidden. He didn't want to have to explain his fighting abilities, his reluctance to fight properly and the fact he was holding back meant that it quickly swung and tipped in Fuller's favour.

Tommy was thrown towards the curtain whilst Oliver was hit and kicked by both of the bouncers and sent crashing to the ground. Whilst Max stood at the curtain with a smile on his face, watching as Oliver and Tommy got beaten up.

Laurel Lance burst through the curtain and went straight for Max, hitting him in the kidneys and then kicking the back of his knees. She used that to grab him and spin him around so that she could flip him onto the ground.

The sound of him being sent to the ground caused the three bouncers to jerk away from Tommy and Oliver and turn their attention to their boss. She stepped away from him with a smirk and looked at him expectantly, "So is this over Max?" She questioned harshly, "Or are you going to have your goons pound on me next?" She cracked her knuckles as she waited for him to answer.

Max stumbled to his feet as he got off of the ground, "You three consider yourselves banned for life!" He snarled as he glared at the trio, "Get the hell out of my place!" He walked back through the curtain and was followed by his bouncers.

Tommy and Oliver shakily got to their feet, Oliver looking at Laurel with surprise.

"Your club sucks anyways!" Tommy shot back, slurring his words slightly.

Laurel looked at them both with concern before her gaze focused on Tommy, "You guys okay?"

The sound of her voice jerked Oliver out of his revere, "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

"Cop Dad, remember?" She replied dryly, "He made me take self defense classes."

Oliver nodded, Lance had threatened him multiple times with his gun whilst he had been dating Laurel. The man hadn't hesitated to remind Oliver of what his job was and the fact that if he wanted he could make Oliver's life hell and make sure that next time it got arrested - that it would stick.

"You need to teach us that," Tommy called out with a grin in an attempt to fill the silence.

Oliver chuckled, "Yeah...you saved our asses." He said in-between breaths as he made a show of being out of breath and trying to catch it.

"Guess I did."

 **. . .**

Oliver allowed Diggle to lead him, Tommy and Laurel into Big Belly Burger. The man had found them once they had left the club, looking unimpressed at the numerous bruises littering his client's face. Dig waved at the woman behind the counter and she shot him a warm expression and waved back "Why don't you guys take a seat and I'll grab a couple of burgers and some ice for those faces."

"That girl's pretty cute." Tommy leered as he stared at the girl behind the counter, earning him an elbow in the ribs from Laurel and a death glare from Diggle.

"That's my sister in-law." Diggle said as he leveled a steely glare at the young man.

Tommy raised his hands in mock-surrender, "Who I will never speak to or look at." He replied immediately and purposefully kept his gaze off of the girl. "Ever." He added for effect before edging away from the group, "I'm going to go grab a booth...Laurel?" He gently pulled her with him as he went to go get a booth towards the back of the restaurant.

Oliver stayed next to Diggle and frowned as he looked at the girl, she didn't have a wedding ring on. "Brother out of the picture?" He questioned and at Diggle's questioning look he shrugged and elaborated, "She's not wearing a wedding ring."

"Yeah...you could say that." Diggle murmured. Oliver let him leave it at that and headed over to where Laurel and Tommy were sitting.

At the booth Laurel was trying to work up her courage, she remembered what Thea had told her and didn't doubt that Thea would tell her brother the truth if Laurel didn't. She looked up as Oliver sat down and bit her lip, "Oliver...I'm going to tell you something and I need you to promise that you won't overreact or cause a scene when I tell you."

"Laurel-" Tommy tried to cut in, a slight warning in his voice.

Oliver frowned and he wondered if Laurel was going to tell him the truth about her and Tommy, Thea had said she was going to visit Laurel earlier in the day - maybe that had something to do with her sudden change in heart. "Okay." When Laurel stayed silent he rolled his eyes, "I promise."

She leaned forwards, "Whilst you were away...I got close to Tommy...after a year we got together...I'm not sure what exactly we are now but I thought you deserved to know." She waited expectantly for the freak out or for Oliver's expression to become angry, hurt, confused. Laurel had mentally prepared an entire speech of how Oliver couldn't judge her after he decided to screw her sister but instead Oliver just watched her quietly before nodding.

"Look man I-" Tommy began, he also seemed to find Oliver's silence strange. His eyes darted between Laurel and Oliver and it seemed that he was also waiting for the inevitable explosion from Oliver.

"Tommy," Oliver said softly, cutting his friend off. "It's okay... _really_...it's okay." He told him earnestly and he was telling the truth. Oliver couldn't deny the fact that he loved Laurel but it wasn't the same way he used to, it was like a memory. He loved what being with Laurel had represented, his younger days. But now he was back, he didn't want to be with her. He was happy for her and Tommy, glad that they had managed to move on with their lives.

"No!" Tommy shook his head, "It wasn't... _you_ were with Laurel and whether you were dead or as it now turns out..alive...you were my best friend and me being with Laurel was a major violation of our friendship." Laurel rolled her eyes and looked annoyed at the fact Tommy was apologizing but let the pair talk content to watch the exchange.

Oliver paused as he tried to work out what was the right thing to say, "I _was_ dead." He sighed, "As far as everyone or anyone knew I was dead...you're happy together and that's good enough for me...besides I burned the bridge between me and Laurel." She stiffened at that. "What I'm trying to say is...thank you for the apology but you don't need to apologize to me."

Tommy's eyes widened at Oliver's statement and leaned back against the booth.

"Just for the record," Laurel called out, "I don't need your forgiveness or permission...I told you because I promised Thea I would and because Tommy was killing himself trying to come up with the best way to tell you."

"What?" Oliver quipped with a smile, "There's no greeting card for that?"

"How are you so chill about this?" Tommy called out, frowning. He had just told his best friend that he had been sleeping with his ex-girlfriend, technically they never broke up but having one person in the relationship be assumed dead whilst sleeping with said person's sister seemed like a situation where they could assume they had broken up. And his friend had barely reacted to the revelation other than to give his blessing.

Oliver opened his mouth to reply when his phone went off, he shot the pair an apologetic look as he answered the phone. "Hello?" When the voice on the other end replied in Russian he frowned and pulled his phone away from his head, covering the speak with his hand. "It's a Russian model...I-I have to take this..can I have a minute?"

"I can see why you're being so chill now." Tommy laughed lightly and turned to Laurel who shot Oliver a disgusted look, "Let's give Oliver and his new _friend_ a minute." He smirked at his friend, "Enjoy."

Laurel echoed his sentiments with a scowl, "Enjoy." Clearly unimpressed that Oliver seemed to be back to his old ways.

"So I checked out?" Oliver questioned once Laurel and Tommy were out of earshot.

"You did." Alexi replied, "His name is Floyd Lawton..I have an address where he stayed last time he was in Starling City." The man paused, "But that is all."

"Let's hope he's a creature of habit." Oliver murmured as he grabbed a napkin from the holder and pulled out a pen from his jacket, "Go."

Alexi rattled off the address, "1700 Broadway Pell Hotel, room 52." The man hesitated and Oliver heard the slightest hint of worry seep into his tone, "You will leave us out of this, yes?" Oliver understood his hesitation, dragging the Bratva into this would be bad for business. "Assuming Mr Lawton doesn't kill you first."

Without replying Oliver ended the call, he grabbed his jacket from the chair and headed out of the back entrance of Big Belly Burger. He felt bad for ditching everyone but the city as a whole came first and Deadshot had to remain his priority.

He shot off a text to Thea asking her to check out the address, he was hesitant about letting her go after Deadshot on her own but he had to rely on the fact that they had the element of surprise. Deadshot didn't know that they knew his Hotel room or that they had contacts in the Bratva.

Hopefully Thea would be able to get in and out without getting herself killed, if she died he would never be able to forgive himself.

 **. . .**

Thea Queen, decked out in her vigilante gear, made her way through the corridor of the Broadway Pell Hotel towards Deadshot's room. She had made her way into the Hotel through the fire escape and was just hoping that she wasn't going to run into any staff. She doubted the Hotel had security cameras and if they did that they were good quality otherwise Deadshot wouldn't risk using this as his makeshift base.

It would be an unnecessary risk and make it far easier for the various agencies after him to catch up to him.

She loaded her bow with an arrow and got ready to fire if she had to, she was coming up to the man's room and her only chance was that she'd catch him by surprise. If she had the time she'd pick the lock to the door but that would give him too much time to escape.

Kicking the door down she fired off an arrow as the door swung open, she watched as the arrow narrowly missed Lawton skimming over his head and landing in the wall. The man ducked down behind his bed before shooting a couple of bullets in her direction. His arm came up from behind the bed and fired a wrist-mounted machine gun, firing off a round towards her.

She heard the noise of the bullets and ducked down behind the door, she waited until she heard Deadshot changing his clip, she jumped from where she had been hiding and fired another arrow towards the man but he pushed up his mattress for cover.

Thea and the mercenary both froze momentarily as the sound of sirens echoed through the hotel, snapping out of his revere first Deadshot fired another bullet towards her and she ducked. As he escaped he fired off bullets behind him and jumped out of the window.

As the sirens got louder and closer Thea decided that she had to run, she grabbed the man's damaged and abandoned laptop from the table and dived out of the window through the hole that Lawton had created. She hurried towards the nearest alley and started to make her way towards the Foundry.

 **. . .**

Cursing she hit the desk in front of her which earned her a disapproving look from her brother she just glared at him in response and silently challenged him to do better. He moved over to her and inspected the laptop, it was covered in bullet-holes and it was a miracle that it even turned on.

Although turning on was all it seemed to do, they were greeted by the 'blue screen of death' whenever they did turn it on.

"We need help." Thea muttered, throwing in the towel and looking at her brother expectantly. ARGUS had trained them both in basic computer skills, basic hacking into databases and how to cover their tracks but neither of them knew how to get data off of a bullet ridden laptop.

Oliver shook his head, "We can't risk it."

"Ollie!" Thea cried out, growing annoyed "We don't have a clue about how to do this right now, we need someone who actually knows what they are doing instead of us staring at this blankly...the cops said that he's targeting the Unidac buyers...our _step-Father_ is one of them!" Her voice rose at the end, she didn't want Walter to get hurt. She had grown up with him, he had been around constantly when they were younger as he was their Dad's best friend barring Malcom.

And now he was their step-Father, he was a part of their Family and she wasn't about to let him get hurt if she could prevent it. If that meant reaching out to an outsider then that was what it was going to take.

Oliver sighed and ran a hand over his scalp as he tried to come up with a plan, "It's getting late...we'll sort this out in the morning...alright? Go back to the Mansion..I'll meet you there in a bit."

"What are you going to do?" Thea questioned with a small frown, not wanting to have to come up with an excuse for why her brother wasn't going to be returning with her. "Diggle's already going to be mad that you skipped out on him...same with Tommy and Laurel."

"Then I'll deal with it." He muttered.

 **. . .**

Oliver had tried to get into the laptop, to find a way to make it work but he couldn't and Thea couldn't either which meant that they were going to have to get outside help. The first idea that crept into his head was the Queen Consolidated IT department - they would have a reason to do as he asked, he was the step-son of their CEO and son of their former CEO.

The head of IT had directed him towards a Ms Smoak, apparently she was one of the best in their department if not _the_ best. He walked over towards her cubicle and cleared his throat in an attempt to get her attention, "Ahem...hi? I'm Oliver Queen." He introduced himself.

Her eyes widened and she turned around on her chair to face him, he chuckled at the fact she had a red pen in her mouth. "Of course!" She said causing the pen to fall out of her mouth, her eyes wide behind her square rimmed glasses. "I know who you are Mr Queen."

Oliver winced at that and shot her his playboy smile, "No...Mr Queen was my Father."

"Right, but he's dead." Felicity winced and hurried to try and fix what she had said, "I mean he drowned..." She closed her eyes and tried to compose herself and stop herself digging an even bigger hole, "But you didn't...which is good because y'know it means you're not dead and neither is your sister...and it also meant that you could come down to the IT department and listen to me babble...which will end...I swear...in..3..2..1."

Oliver laughed, genuinely laughed at the blonde's babbling. He took a moment to compose himself before getting to business, "I'm having some trouble with my computer." Placing Lawton's laptop on her desk he hoped that she wouldn't ask too many questions, he was taking a risk reaching out to someone like this and he hoped that it wasn't about to blow up in his face. "I was at my coffee shop surfing the web and I spilt a latte on it."

He could practically hear Thea's laughter inside of his head and her ridiculing his excuse.

Felicity raised her eyebrows at him, "Really?"

"Yeah." Oliver said with a nod, already regretting his choice of excuse.

She looked at him with a disbelieving expression as she glanced between him and his bullet ridden laptop, "Because these look like bullet holes." She said as she ran her hand over the laptop's casing.

He really should have came up with a better excuse instead he smiled weakly, "My coffee shop's in a bad neighborhood."

Felicity tilted her head at him with a look that just screamed 'Really?' he wasn't surprised, he wouldn't believe himself right now. It was stupid really, the amount of secrets he had to hide and he was still a bad liar - he always had been. "If there is _anything_ you can salvage from it I'd really appreciate it."

She seemed to debate for a couple of seconds before shrugging and picking up the laptop, he waited silently as she got to work on it and he hoped that it wasn't going to end up being a complete dead end.

 **. . .**

 **Meanwhile**

Thea was sat cross legged on her bed, waiting anxiously for Oliver to text her with news about the laptop. She didn't want to find out that she had nearly gotten shot for something that turned out to be a dead end. She had only been shot three times and she'd really rather not experience it for a fourth time.

Although the bullets hadn't been as bad as the shrapnel. She eyed up the scar on her ankle with a wince as she remembered what had happened, it had hurt like hell.

"-Thea?" A voice called out and burst her out of her thoughts. She turned to see her Mother standing at the door with two dresses in her hands, "I was wondering...do you want to wear the Kalvin Klein or the Zac Posen?" She asked and Thea looked up with a confused expression and forced out a chuckle.

"For dinner?" She frowned, "I was just going to wear my PJ's?"

Her Mother sighed and held up the dresses, moving closer to Thea, "For Walter's stock auction."

Thea bit her lip and frowned, if she went there with her Mom then she couldn't go dressed as a vigilante. Which would mean that she couldn't protect them, people would notice if bilionaire heiress Thea Queen ran into a gunfight. And with Deadshot targeting the Unidac bidders, at least according to Hilton and Lance, there was probably going to be a gunfight. "I think I'd rather stay here...catch up on my work." She gestured to her untouched laptop.

"Thea...please." Moira said with a pleading expression, "It's important that you come...both to me and Walter."

Thea looked up with a surprised expression, "Really?"

A sad expression flickered across her Mother's features and she placed down the dresses and sat in the bed next to Thea, "Do you remember when you were four years old? You came home with a cat..it was a stray and it was filthy." Thea laughed at the memory, "And it was mean. But you stood there and you declared that it was coming to live with us...your Father saw what was going on when he came home from the office and he saw what was going on he sat you down and explained to you that the cat was in fact a Tiger and we needed to get it home." Thea smiled as she remembered her Father talking to her, she hadn't really thought about the positive memories on the Island...only his death. "And somehow you understood him..listened to him...he was always so good with you...I was always so jealous of that."

"I remember that." She murmured quietly, "God...that's the first time anyone's talked about him in years...first time I have." At her Mother's surprised look she explained, "On the Island getting sentimental...caught up in old memories...that'd get you killed...so I never really got to think about him..or anything other than survival."

"Well..I guess we'll have to change that." Her Mother said as she patted her on the arm and got up to make her way out of the room.

Thea got up and looked over to the dresses, "I like the Kalvin Klein dress." She watched as her Mom turned around and shot her a small smile before walking out of the door.

Guess she was going to the auction after-all.

* * *

 **. . .**

 **A/N -** Not too sure about the Tommy/Thea/Oliver/Moira scene that replaced the one where Thea would have been caught by the police which leads to Moira being lectured on her parenting techniques. I'm trying to make it clear that the crusade is hurting Tommy and Moira too and that Tommy is suspicious even if he doesn't know of what exactly he is suspicious of. And the scene in Big Belly Burger was annoying. And this episode just isn't a favourite of mine generally so there's that.

Was tempted to make it so that Thea is/was a member of the Triad but need to finish the S4 Thea flashbacks before I do that.

Also working out the time that passes between scenes is annoying as it goes from nighttime to daytime to nighttime and I'm left wondering what happened in those gaps and how exactly to fill them. Also it's hard writing without 'Drunk Thea the expositional plot device' that the show had. Plus most of this episodes scenes had to have Oliver in them as they wouldn't have worked with Thea, wrote them with her and it didn't work.

Thank you everyone for reading!

And a deleted scene from the last chapter has been added to the 'Authors Note.'

Alllssoooo I kind of hate Season 6 but last night's episode was amazing and has made me want to write more so hopefully that'll bode well for this fic.

 **Also** (I need a word that's different to the word 'Also') I've finished all of the flashbacks up to the end of season 2, midway through season 3 now (Season 2's were my favourite to write) Would you prefer me to upload those as their own fics (this would give me time to edit and fully flesh out the actual show chapter's so that they weren't as close to canon as they are) or follow the format of present day with flashbacks in between scenes **?**

 _Just started watching legends, onto 2x01...is the whole time quake thing linked to the Nazi/Earth X thing? So...Nazi's win and thus Tommy and Oliver become Nazi leaders?_

 **Guest Review Responses -**

*Sorry but I'm not doing an Oliver/Thea pairing, I don't understand how people expect that to work in fic as even if the characters were okay with it everyone around them would be disgusted and it wouldn't end well. Plus I'm not a fan of incest, Oliver and Thea are _siblings_ so I will not be pairing them together. If you like that then it's fine but I don't see it working as the characters wouldn't do it and the people around them wouldn't accept it.

*I know! I should have had two copies and I usually do but I wrote the chapters in one go so I hadn't gotten a chance to make a copy of the entire thing as I make a copy once I've finished writing. Also thank you! I was curious, I know the next episode is immediately after this one.

*There will be quite a few moments between Laurel and Thea, I wanted to avoid the love triangle that happened in Season 1 as writing romance isn't my strong point and because I didn't like it. Glad you liked it enough to do that! I loved Season 1 and Season 2 so I'm glad this fic gives me a reason to rewatch it essentially on repeat.


	6. Lone Gumen (2) An Innocent Man (1)

**|Ghosts That We Knew|**

 **. Lone Gunmen (2) /An Innocent Man .**

 **A/N -** Finally decided what's going to happen with the Undertaking, you'll all probably hate me but I promise that it's for the best. As I was debating between seven (yeah..) endings, narrowed it down to three and finally down to one. So hopefully, even though it's a long way off, you all enjoy that and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Slightly regret not marrying Malcolm to Moira, I don't like them together (for obvious reasons) but from a plot standpoint it may have made more sense.

 **EXAMS ARE FINISHED!** Which means, updates should be much more often and much faster but I can't promise anything because life has an annoying habit of getting in the way. Plus my area is quite unreliable for WiFi for some strange reason, pretty sure it's my provider.

Also...the Undertaking was a fun episode to write...I am sure that many people will hate me for what I've done (basically no character is safe as nearly everyone had a death scene written at some point.) So that should be interesting...I know it's a while away but I'm just really excited for the reactions. (I apologise in advance.) Maybe Tommy dies, maybe Diggle, maybe Felicity, maybe Laurel, maybe Oliver, maybe Moira, maybe Mckenna, maybe Quentin...you get the idea but seriously though Thea was the only character that was safe.

(Once we get past these 'An Innocent Man' and 'Damaged' then it'll be back to the full episode format but it's easier to split it up for these kinds of episodes.)

 **. . .**

* * *

Oliver drummed his foot against the floor of the cubicle in Queen Consolidated, the IT girl seemed to be doing a good job - judging by the occasional triumphant noises and fist pumps she kept doing. But he was still on edge, he didn't like the fact that they were being forced to go to an outsider.

And yes he'd done his research, or Thea had and he'd listened to what she'd told him; Felicity Meghan Smoak, MIT class of 09', had joined the IT department of QC fresh out of MIT and had slowly worked her way up to being an IT assistant and had been blocked from further promotions by her manager.

Her background seemed to check out and he had tried to ignore the voice inside of his head, that sounded suspiciously like Amanda Waller, telling him she could be an asset.

He wasn't going to drag innocents into his crusade, having his sister be dragged down with him was bad enough.

But he still hated asking for help, especially from strangers, admittedly Felicity wasn't a stranger (He'd done research on everyone in the IT department before choosing who to go to) and Walter had vouched for her. Apparently his Step-Father had a soft spot for the blonde IT girl, the girl who was currently muttering furiously to herself as she typed away on her computer. Occasionally letting out a frustrated noise or huff.

Finally she let out a noise that sounded somewhat victorious, he looked towards her and she grinned, "I've got it!" Her fist pumped up into the air and she started to babble, "It was easy was pie...as in the food not the number...so not 3.1-"

He quickly cut her off before she could start listing off all the digits of pi, she seemed like the person who'd know it down to an insane amount of digits. "Alright! Thank you Felicity...could you pull up what you found please?" She nodded and he looked at her computer screen, frowning as images began to flood it.

"Right." She paused and Oliver looked as images pulled up from the laptop onto her computer, "Well it looks like blueprints."

The location of Deadshots next hit, "Can you tell what of?"

"The Exchange Building," She answered quickly without looking up from the keyboard.

Frowning he shook his head, that didn't clear anything up "Never heard of it."

She turned towards him with a somewhat disbelieving expression, "It's where the Unidac Industry's Auction is about to take place." Felicity explained, her expression growing more and more suspicious by the second, "I thought you said this was your laptop?" She pressed skeptically.

"Yes." He replied slowly, the crease in his brow giving away the obvious lie.

She winced at that and pushed herself away from him slightly, seeming to be debating with herself for a couple of moments before biting her lip and meeting his gaze, "I don't want to get in the middle of some Shakespearean family drama..thing."

"What?" He snapped, not understanding.

Felicity dropped her gaze back down to her keyboard nervously before slowly meeting his gaze again, twirling her pen as she spoke. "Mr Steele marrying your Mom..." At his blank look she sighed and tried to explain, "Claudius? Gertrude? Hamlet?"

Hamlet vaguely rung a bell but he shook his head, "I didn't study Shakespeare at any of the four schools I dropped out of or in high school."

He saw her echo the words 'four schools,' in disbelief before she sighed and placed the pen back down on her desk, "Mr Steele is trying to buy Unidac Industries." She paused to check he was listening before continuing, "You've got a laptop associated with one of his biggest competitors...that obviously doesn't look good. You, his step-son, having a laptop of the man he's competing against."

Oliver nodded to show his understanding, "Floyd Lawton-"

"No." Felicity cut him off with a small frown and a furrowed brow, "Warren Patel." She corrected as she gestured towards the computer screen, spinning around on her chair with a confused expression, "Who's Floyd Lawton?"

Mentally Oliver cursed himself, somehow it had been five years of the worst kind of hell and he was still terrible at lying - if Thea was with him she'd be laughing at and berating him for it, "One of his employees...evidently." Oliver grimaced as he saw the skepticism flash across her face.

"Thank you for your help Felicity," Oliver said with his playboy smile as he mulled over what she'd told him. The data on the laptop had confirmed his and Thea's suspicions that the sniper was going to strike at the auction. And that their step-Father was in trouble.

Oliver tried to formulate a plan of action in his head, shooting off another text to Thea as he went.

 **.**

Thea made her way down the steps of Verdant, her arms folded across her chest as an uncomfortable expression flickered across her face. She wasn't used to wearing dresses, she'd only ever worn shorts and trousers for the past five years and they were much easier to fight in than a dress.

"What's the smallest knife we have?" She called out to Oliver as she watched him type away on the computer, she was planning on hiding a knife in a sheath on her leg - she was not about to go into a situation completely unarmed.

Oliver paused what he was doing and pointed towards the weapons crate on the ground next to him, Thea thanked him and opened the box up, grabbing a small knife and twirling it around her fingers as she tried to get a feel for the balance of it. It felt alright, she'd be able to throw it at least.

She saw a flash of black out of the corner of her eye and spun around to see a dufflebag on their medical bay. The metallic table and blood bank on wheels was as close as they could get to a hospital in the bunker. "What's the bag for?"

"Insurance." Oliver replied shortly as he surveyed the blueprints for the auction.

Thea rolled her eyes at his vague answer, knowing he was being purposefully obtuse, "For?"

"The police aren't complete idiots." Oliver muttered, "They aren't geniuses but they aren't stupid and eventually people will make the link between our reappearance and the Vigilante's emergence." He shrugged and gestured towards the duffle, "Better I get arrested now rather than later."

Thea paused for a second, "What about me? I'm supposed to sit by and pretend that if they suspect you they won't suspect me? Surely it makes more sense for us _both_ to get caught?"

"No." Oliver shook his head, "I'm not putting you in danger _and_ I'm going to be lucky if my plan works and I end up with one person to masquerade as me...nevermind you."

"I'm not twelve anymore Ollie," Thea murmured, "I survived the island, I survived a year with ARGUS and a year with _Slade Wilson_ of all people and I survived Russia...I think I can manage being arrested." Her mouth quirked up into a small smile, "Especially if it won't stick." At his look she shrugged, "I assumed your master plan included a certain lawyer we both know."

Oliver spun around to meet her gaze, she smirked knowing that he knew she could be just as stubborn as him and that he would have to let her have her way if they were going to make it to the auction on time and protect Walter. Finally he nodded, albeit reluctantly, "Fine! But if and when they arrest us...we do it _my_ way." Letting out an annoyed huff he pointed towards the computer screen, "Now...can we talk about the auction..we need a plan."

"Okay," She conceded and made her way over next to him, looking at the blueprints. "So there's four towers right? And since I'm being forced to attend as 'Thea Queen' there's no way we can cover them...even with the two of us we would have struggled to cover the towers and buildings."

"And I need to attend as 'Oliver Queen,' for the other plan to work." Oliver muttered, "Each tower has an eyeline into the building..perfect for a sniper." She watched as he got a far away look in his eyes for a moment and wondered where he'd went to but the moment was gone as quickly as it came and continued, "Lawton can get a kill shot from almost anywhere."

Thea sighed and resisted the urge to run a hand through her hair, her Mom would kill her if she messed it up, "We don't know how many targets Deadshot has or who he'll go to first...we can't do this alone Oliver."

"We need somebody on our side," Oliver agreed.

Thea practically jumped up when she realised who they needed to turn to, quickly letting out a groan as she realised who _exactly_ they'd have to go to. "We need Lance."

Oliver rolled his eyes and grabbed his bow, "Then I suppose the Hood will be paying him a visit."

"Try not to give him a heart attack...he's old and Laurel keeps complaining about his cholesterol." Thea called out as he grabbed his suit and left, her brother only waving her off as a response.

 **.**

Detective Quentin Lance made his way through the streets of the Glades as he walked away from the Station, he was fighting the urge to run to the nearest bar and have a whisky. The cases were piling up, they were understaffed and underfunded and now there was two hooded freaks running around trying to be modern day 'Robin Hoods.'

Meanwhile 'The Hood,' watched him from the shadows of the Glades, waiting until Lance passed by one of the patrol cars for him to make his move. He tossed a rock towards a pile of trash, sending the cans and papers flying - the rattling noise that echoed through the street catching Lance's attention.

It was then that Oliver made his move, jerking out from the shadows he grabbed the Detective's wrist and twisted it around his back - pressing him down into the hood of the car. The force only increasing as the man struggles, "Son of a bitch!" The Detective hissed as he struggled.

"Detective," Oliver muttered calmly.

"You are just asking for trouble..pulling this in front of a police station...they'll have your head for this." Lance growled.

Oliver ignored the Detective's protests, "Floyd Lawton...a sniper named 'Deadshot'...is targeting the buyers at the Unidac Industries auctions." Oliver informed the man quietly, "Interpol call him Deadshot because he _never_ misses." When the Detective tries to jerk out of his grasp and say something Oliver cuts him off with a shove and a growl, "You can look this all up after I go."

"And where's your friend? Eh!" The Detective muttered furiously, "Where's your little friend? You're not usually out all on your lonesome...is that what this is? A diversion so that I stop chasing after you and your friend in the red hood?" He scoffed and began to talk again when Oliver finally lost his patience.

"Stop it!" He hissed, "Warren Patel hired Floyd Lawton and we can't protect them by ourselves...it could be Patel wanting every rival buyer dead or just two or three." Oliver paused to check the Detective was actually listening, "I can't protect them in a space that big and take down the sniper at the same time." Oliver prayed he was making the right decision, "We need your help."

The Detective let out a harsh chuckle, "Yeah...you need professional help-"

"Lawton laces his bullets with curare," Oliver ignored the Detective's dig, "Tell your men to wear kevlar vests...Lawton doesn't miss." Oliver pulled out an arrow from his quiver and slammed the laptop into the hood of the car, the arrow stuck in and rising from the center of it.

It wasn't like it wasn't already damaged before.

A noise caught the Detective's attention and he used the distraction to fire off a grappling arrow towards the nearest rooftop and allowed the line to pull him away.

Leaving a stunned, and angrier by the second, Detective behind.

 **.**

Thea Queen could vaguely remember going to 'events' when she was little, being dressed up in designer clothes and frilly dresses and was made to feel like a princess whilst Ollie smiled for the camera and her parents made all of the small-talk. She had been like a decoration then, something for people to smile and coo at.

Now she was a distraction, a curiousity that people kept staring at. Something to increase interest in the Queens and by extension their stock prices. And she wasn't surprised, it would have been stupid to expect people to not notice the presence of the 'Missing Queen heir that spent five years on an Island' but it didn't make the attention any easier to swallow.

Slade had drilled the importance of, to both her and Ollie, staying in the shadows and being unnoticed. And she knew that ARGUS had drilled that into her brother even harder. Now she was having to do the opposite, she forced on a charming smile as yet another socialite came up to her with barely disguised curiousity and tried to make small talk. Their attempts at getting her to talk about the island were obvious, she partly understood their curiousity - the last time most of them had seen her she'd been a twelve year old child not the young adult she was now.

It didn't make it any less irritating though. She was here to support Walter, not help desperate people climb the social hierarchy of Starling or answer thinly veiled questions about her time on the Island.

After the fifth question about her time on the island she made her way towards her Mother, Step-Father and to her surprise Tommy. Tommy grinned at her and hugged her, reaching out to ruffle her hair like he used to do daily before the island.

The sound of her Mother tutting caused him to freeze and retract his hand with a sheepish smile, "Don't mess up her hair Thomas...that took hours for the stylist to do...as Thea kept threatening him."

"It's not my fault that it hurt." Thea retorted as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

She shot Tommy a questioning look, eager to take the attention off of her, "Here for your Dad or just as a show of moral support?"

"Moral support," Tommy replied with an easy smile as he slung an arm around her shoulder. "My Father wasn't interested in buying Unidac."

"Not that you'd support him if he did," Thea commented as she tilted her head at Tommy, "That was quite the screaming match you both had on my first day back...hard to forget."

His smile faded slightly and he just shrugged, "Well you know my Dad...just a pleasure to be around."

"Right," Thea murmured uncertainly. Truthfully her memories of Malcolm Merlyn were vague at best but she trusted Tommy's opinion of him.

Walter smiled softly at the pair of them, placing a placating hand on each of their shoulders, "I think you look beautiful Thea...my two favourite girls-" His gaze darted off towards the side and he smiled, "And my _two_ would-be sons."

"Two?" Tommy questioned before spinning around to see Oliver making his way down from the balcony, an alert looking Diggle in tow.

She caught Oliver's eye and waved him over, not missing the way he was scanning the windows - she'd been doing the same. The entire building had too many windows, too many points of access for a sniper to use.

Her Mother smiled moving towards Oliver whilst Tommy unhooked himself from Thea and clapped Oliver on the shoulder, "Quite the turnout..huh?" Oliver joked.

"Yeah.." Tommy replied with a smirk, "It's going to be quite the event...Dad'll be gutted he didn't place a bid."

Walter nodded, "It's a big opportunity...Unidac was a big company...it's no real surprise that so many people are interested in acquiring it...but you're right Thomas..I was surprised when Malcolm didn't try to buying it." Thea frowned as her Mother stiffened slightly, again when Malcolm was mentioned, she wondered what exactly was going on there.

"I'm so glad you came Oliver," Their Mother murmured softly, oblivious to Thea's suspicion "Thank you."

She watched as Oliver winced slightly, they both knew that he hadn't wanted to come to the event and so their Mother's gratitude must have hit a nerve. Or caused a bit of guilt, she'd felt bad when she'd been enthusiastically greeted by Tommy upon his arrival at the Mansion.

"Mr Steele-" A voice called out, jerking Thea from her thoughts. "The auction will be opening in five minutes...please make sure that you have your opening bid ready."

Walter smiled at them all before turning to the well-dressed woman, "Thank you June." He followed the woman away towards where the other buyers were gathering.

Thea and Oliver hung back, failing slightly behind their Mother and Tommy. They watched as three policemen approached a man who they assumed was Warren Patel, they exchange a pleased look as the policeman places handcuffs on the man and slowly leads him away.

"One down...one to go," Thea murmured quietly.

She watched as Diggle hung behind them, making sure to maintain enough distance to give the siblings some sembalance of privacy without being too far away to step in if there was trouble.

"Alright Dig?" She called out with a small smile, idly wondering what the man wore outside of his uniform. She was surprised that her Mother hadn't forced the poor man into a tailored suit.

"Yes Miss Queen," He replied back blandly.

Oliver surveyed the area around them before turning back to Diggle, "Got your eyes open?"

Diggle's mask seemed to slip for a second, annoyance replacing his usual calm demeanor before he schooled his features back into the carefully blank slate and let out a quiet sigh. "That's what I'm here to do sir...that and answer patronising questions." He lowered his voice for the last part, annoyance and irritation seeping into his tone.

"This guy's out of time." Oliver muttered, seemingly to himself, "If he's going to do something he needs to do it before the auction." Thea turned and shot him a sharp look, elbowing him in the ribs as Diggle frowned.

"Sir?" Diggle echoed, confused by his clients mutterings.

"We were listening to the story on the radio," Thea explained with a small smile, "The whole sniper thing sounded interesting...better than the usual news at least...I don't really care about who's sleeping with who out of the Starling Elite."

Diggle didn't seem impressed or convinced by her explanation but he didn't get a chance to press her further as she turned to Oliver again. "Should one of us go shadow Walter?" She questioned, already regretting letting them go off on their own. "If he's a buyer then he could be a target." She said, purposefully unsure and vague because she knew Diggle was listening in.

Oliver nodded and gently pulled Thea alongside him as they made their way back towards Tommy and their Mother, slinging an arm around their shoulders - "Dig..can you please get them both out of here now?" Urgency seeping into his tone.

His Mother frowned and tried to voice her protests as Tommy wormed his way out of Oliver's grip and shot a disbelieving look at Thea.

Thea opened her mouth to begin to explain, calm them down when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. A red light refracted among the wine and champagne glasses, it seemed that she noticed it at the same time as Captain Lance.

Lance was the first to react, yelling out to the crowd just as the light paused over her step-Father's heart, "Get down!" The crowd let out a panicked cry as everyone ducks for cover, on instinct she ducks away from the windows and gets behind a concrete pillar out of the line of fire.

Gunfire sounded as glasses smashed and broke upon impact as bullets hit them, sending people crashing to the sound as they tried to avoid the gunfire. The room dissolved into screams as people darted about wildly, she ducked behind a concrete pillar and scanned the crowd for Walter.

She let out a relieved sigh at the sight of him being pulled to safety by Captain Lance, even if she didn't know him that well she didn't want him dead. He had been nice to them before the island and he had made her Mom happy on the island.

Thea turned her attention to Tommy and her Mother, satisfied that Lance would help Walter, "Are you okay?" She questioned as she took in their pale and shaken appearances.

"Are you hurt?" Oliver echoed, fairly certain that they hadn't been shot but he needed to double check.

"N-No.." Their Mother replied quietly, seemingly trying to pull herself together, "I'm fine..I'm okay." She jerked upwards, eyes wide and panicked, "Where's Walter?"

"He's okay." Thea assured, "Detective Lance got him...he's fine."

Diggle looked between them all and started to try to maneuver them out, placing a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Sir I have to get you out of here."

"No!" Oliver jerked out of the grip and shook his head, pointing emphatically at Tommy and his Mother, "Them! I'll make sure that Thea gets out safely." He grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him, leaving their confused family behind.

She tried not to think about the inevitable questions and the worry they'd be feeling as they watched the pair of them run into a gunfight.

But it was all for the greater good.

She had to keep reminding herself of that.

Oliver pulled her into a staircase and towards a trashcan, she watched as he took the lid off and shoved a duffle into her arms. Using her to hold it as he pulled out both of their suits.

Thea shot him a questioning look before realising that this had been Oliver's plan, she quickly turned around and looked around for the camera - trying her best to not be overly obvious about it.

She accepted the suit that was shoved into her hands and began run up the stairs with it in her arms, deciding to shove it on over her dress once she was away from the camera. It wouldn't be ideal but she didn't exactly have the chance to be modest and change into it.

Not that her brother hadn't seen her change before, there hadn't exactly been privacy on the island.

As she grabbed her bow from inside of an air vent on the next set of stairs, a set which had been cased to check for cameras - the suits they could explain away but not the changing into them or the picking up of a bow.

She grabbed her quiver and readied herself, they were going to take down Deadshot once and for all.

 **.**

The sound of crashing signaled Oliver and Thea's arrival to the fourth floor, it seemed like it was under construction which made it the perfect hideaway for a sniper. The rafters are exposed and coated in dust, bare light-bulbs hang precariously and leave the room in darkness.

She followed behind Oliver with her bow at the ready. Usually she'd use her knives, preferring throwing them and close combat but she couldn't go up against a machine gun with a knife.

That would be begging for gunshot wound number five.

Loading her bow with another arrow she followed behind Oliver, making sure to check their surroundings. The sniper was hiding in the shadows somewhere and they couldn't risk getting caught off guard, if they were both shot by Lawton with the curare bullets then neither of them would make it to the Foundry without help from the neither and so they'd die.

After everything they'd die to some random sniper mere weeks after returning home.

After being stabbed, shot, burnt, poisoned, whipped, choked and nearly drowned - they'd die to a sniper mere weeks after returning home.

They were greeted by the sound of gunfire as the sniper began to fire shots off at them, she ducked down behind a concrete pillar whilst Oliver jumped up onto the scaffolding. When the sound of gunfire stopped a voice rang out, rough and coarse, "I admire your work! I guess you guys won't be extending me the same professional courtesy."

"Your profession is murder!" Oliver shot back, sending off an arrow towards where the bullets had came from.

Thea added to his retort as she fired off another arrow of her own, "We are _not_ in the same line of work! We work to save this city! You're just out for yourself!"

"You've _both_ taken lives!" Deadshot returned, sending off another round of gunfire.

Oliver growled as he shot three more arrows towards the man's direction, "For the good of others!"

"You're just out for yourself!" Thea added as she made her way through the shadows of the concrete pillars, trying to find out where exactly Floyd Lawton was hiding.

"So are you!" Lawton snarled.

Thea shot off an arrow, "We are out for this city!" There was a pause where she could almost hear Deadshot scoffing underneath the sound of gunfire, she tried to ignore the sour feeling in her gut at his words. They weren't the same. She wanted to help people, he just wanted to make money.

They weren't the same.

She didn't know whether she was trying to convince him or herself.

And then he unloaded another round, she darted towards the scaffolding where her brother was watching Deadshot with his bow ready. The man was wearing armor and she tried to work out which weak spot would be best, he nodded at her and they exchanged a silent conversation deciding the plan of action.

They'd worked out how to communicate without words years ago.

She jumped down and drew his fire, thankful for the fact she lived up to her brother's nickname. At the sound of her brother releasing an arrow she ducked behind the nearest column, waiting until she heard the final unmistakable thud of a body hitting the concrete ground of the room's floor.

"Clear." Her brother called out and she emerged from the shadows, eyeing up Deadshot's lifeless corpse. The arrow had landed right in his eye, poking out of his lens.

Thea turned around in alarm at the sound of a thud, the sound of rattling breath making her panic and for a fleeting moment she wondered if Deadshot had went against his M.O and brought back up. Readying herself for a fight she eyed up the figure in the door.

The figure of her bodyguard, John Diggle.

"Hey!" She called out towards Oliver, Diggle was limping slightly as he tried to avoid putting his weight on the side he'd been shot. "No..no-no-" Thea muttered to herself as she ran over to him, "He's been hit!"

Oliver raced over towards them eyeing up Diggle with concern, "We have to take him to the Foundry." Oliver muttered to himself as he assesed the man's wound, logically Thea knew he was right. Dig had been hit with curare and they couldn't risk doing a blood transfusion when neither of them actually knew Dig's type, they'd have to take him to the base and use Yao Fei's herbs.

They could only hope that they'd get there fast enough.

"Why did he have to follow us." Thea muttered to herself ruefully as she tried to help Oliver support Diggle's weight, the man was practically out of it as he slumped downwards and seemed to be feverish, the bodyguard not reacting to their voices or the fact he was being carried by the Vigilante's. "How are we meant to avoid being spotted?"

"Foundry's not too far off, we've just got to be careful." Oliver replied, his voice strained as he took on the brunt of Diggle's weight, "We need to hurry."

The trio moved through the shadows of the fourth tower of the Exchange building, Oliver and Thea both grunting with the exertion of trying to support the larger feverish man's weight.

Thea hoped that they'd make it, she liked Diggle and she didn't want the man to die.

She just hoped they were making the right choice.

On the island they'd learned to trust their instincts, she just hoped they wouldn't fail her now.

 **.**

"Thea I've got him!" Oliver grunted as they made their way down the steps of the Foundry, "Go grab the herbs and some water whilst I try to asses the bleeding." Thea hesitated for a second before carefully pulling herself away from Diggle and racing down the stairs, tossing her bow down on a table as she slid towards the munitions cabinet.

They hadn't had to use the herbs in two years and now she'd used them twice in the same week, because of the same psycho, she quickly ground up the herbs and grabbed a bottle of water - trying to mix the two as quickly as possible as she watched her brother lay down Diggle on the medical table.

Whilst Thea made sure Diggle drank their medicinal cocktail, he tried to protest as she tipped the bowl into his mouth but he was too weak and feverish to put up much of a fight beyond a grunt and a weak attempt at a shove. He was unable to do anything but give in.

She watched as Oliver tried to remove the bullet, silently grateful of the fact that Dig was too out of it to tell what they were doing as she looked over at her brother. Bullets hurt more coming out than they did when they went in, at least in her experience.

"Thea...I need you to get a bandage and be ready plug this thing as soon as I pull the bullet out...I don't want him to bleed out." Oliver called out and shot his sister a grateful smile as she grabbed the equipment and dressings needed and readied himself to help him.

They worked fast, pulling the bullet out and then plugging and stitching the wound up. She finished his stitches whilst Oliver went to go wash the greasepaint off of his face, once again she reminded him that he wouldn't need to do it if he'd just agree to wear a mask.

She'd gotten her mask from Slade after an argument similar to the almost daily one she had with Oliver.

As she finished up the stitches and watched as Diggle slipped into unconsciousness she leaned backwards against the metal table, there wasn't really anything else she could do now beyond watching as the herbs tried to fight the curare in his system.

He wasn't dead yet, which was a good sign.

If they'd been too late he would have already been dead or paralyzed.

Sighing she pulled down her hood and ran a hand through her hair, Diggle had almost died for them and she didn't know how to feel about that. The last person who'd been willing to die for her, apart from her brother, had been Slade and she didn't know anything about his whereabouts.

He could be dead for all she knew.

She didn't want Diggle to die too.

.

It was hours later when Diggle finally woke up, his clothes were soaked in sweat and the jacket was stained from where the bullet went in, he grunted as he pulled himself upwards. Blinking as he tried to clear his vision, eyes widening as he took in the sight in front of him.

She watched as he looked around the Foundry at the weapons, computer and arrowheads before his gaze finally landed on herself and her brother.

"Hey," Oliver called out and she had to suppress a laugh at that. Her brother was trying to be casual and she didn't understand why, their secret was out and Diggle was either going to help them or make sure that they were both in handcuffs by the end of the week.

Not that she'd let it get that far, she'd sooner have an arrow in him than go to jail.

Diggle pulled himself upwards and off of the table, struggling for breath as he did it, shaking his head at the sight in front of him as his brows creased in confusion. "Oliver...Thea?" He paused before properly taking in their outfits, "You're the vigilantes!"

Diggle then, to her annoyance, staggered forwards towards Oliver. His fist raised as if he was about to try to land a punch, Oliver easily moved out of his way and maneuvered Diggle away from him. She watched as Diggle struggled and tried to free himself from Oliver's grip but Oliver held the man's arms behind his back.

After a couple of seconds of tense silence and heavy breathing, Thea readying herself to jump into the fray if needed, Oliver looked at Dig with a blank expression. "Easy there Dig...you were shot." She wondered if this was Oliver trying to diffuse the situation, calm it all down, if it is she doesn't think it's working.

"And I was the one who had to help stitch you up." Thea muttered from next to him, "And if you tore the stitches trying to hurt Ollie then I'll let you bleed out onto the ground."

"She's joking." Oliver added immediately, shooting Thea a glare.

"No I'm not." Thea retorted with her arms folded across her chest, the gesture reminding Diggle of how much she seemed like a teenager in that moment and he nearly stumbled backwards as the realisation that one of the vigilante's was a kid hit him. The killer decked out in red leather that the media had taken to calling 'Artemis,' was a seventeen year old kid.

"Son of a bitch." Diggle finally muttered, "Of course it had to be you two." The man shook his head in disbelief and jerked his arms out in front of him as he tried to deal with what was happening around him, hands formed fists as he fought the urge to punch something. Again. "That island turned you into a pair of maniacs." He let out a harsh breath, "You really did loose your minds on that island!"

He turned to Oliver with an furious expression, reminiscent of Slade, "You turned your kid sister into this?" He pointed towards her and the fact that she was decked out in a vigilante uniform. "I'd heard that you were selfish before the island but this-" He jerked his head towards Thea, "This is a new low...dragging down a kid with you."

"Hey!" Thea yelled, walking up to Diggle with barely suppressed fury. "He didn't make me into anything and he didn't drag me down...the things he had to do to keep me alive...keep me safe...he's the reason I'm alive...anything barring that was my choice." She practically snarled at him before Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She chose to do this Dig...I would have been fine with her living an ordinary life." Oliver offered before continuing, "Look...on that Island I found things-"

Diggle cut him off with a scoff, "What? Like archery classes?" He was clutching his arm and Thea guessed that the pain relief was starting to wear off.

"Like clarity." Oliver continued, ignoring Diggle's interruption, "Starling City is dying because of the criminal elite...it is being poisoned by a criminal elite who don't care who they hurt as long as they maintain their wealth and power."

Thea met Diggle's gaze, "People like Adam Hunt." she added quietly.

"And what are the pair of you going to do?" Diggle snapped finally, "Take them all down on your own? Take them down just the pair of you? With your bows and arrows and Halloween costumes?"

"Yeah," Thea shrugged, "And you...if you'll join us."

Diggle paused, the shock and disbelief momentarily rendering him speechless, he opened his mouth to comment or retort or refute Thea's words but Oliver cut him off. "You're special forces out of Kandar...it's perfect...you're a fellow solider." Thea winced at the fury that flashes across Diggle's expression as soon as the word 'soldier' left her brothers mouth.

It seemed that hadn't been the right approach.

"You really see yourself like that? Like a soldier?" Diggle seemed almost sad, almost pitying as he looked at Oliver. "Oliver man..you aren't a solider...neither's she...you're criminals...taking the law into your own hands and enforcing your own twisted idea of justice." Diggle shook his head and grabbed his jacket, turning away from them both.

"I could have taken you anywhere!" Oliver called out after him, "But I brought you here and I saved your life...we need your help."

"You're murderers." Diggle yelled back as he made his way towards the stairs, "And you're insane if you think I'll join you."

Thea moved to block him, to try to stop him from leaving - they can't let him go. Not if he was just going to send the cops after them. But her brother called out to her, ordering him to let the man go. "Let him go Speedy," Oliver called out, eyes never leaving Diggle.

Reluctantly she moved to the side and allowed Diggle to pass, watching as he shot them one last reproachful look before practically sprinting away from them. Like he was running away from them, she couldn't tell and didn't know whether it was because he was scared of what they were or angry that they'd lied and broken the law for so long without him noticing.

Maybe it was both.

After a moments silence she turned to Oliver, "That could have gone better...so what's the plan? Do we run away to Mexico now or later?" She continued speaking, ignoring his silence, forcing joviality into her tone to ignore the anxiety seeping through her and the paranoid voice in her head telling her to find Diggle and put an arrow in him. "You know what, you're right! Corto Maltese would be so much better..."

At his lack of verbal response and the tired look he shot her she let the snark fade and the worry seep into her tone, "What are we going to do now? He's going to tell Lance...they'll arrest us and we'll spend the rest of our lives in cages or a Mental Hospital...and if that happens ARGUS will probably take us into their custody."

Oliver moved from where he was standing, "It'll work out...he isn't going to call the cops on us."

"Your the one who didn't even want him involved in the first place." Thea retorted, "I suggested he could be useful when he first met him and you hated the idea."

Oliver sighed, "Because I didn't want innocents involved in this...this way I didn't have a choice beyond bringing him here and saving his life and letting him bleed out and die...just trust me on this speedy, I trust him and I haven't been wrong before."

A childish part of her wanted to remind him of Sara but then her mind flashed back to Fyers and Yao Fei and she kept her mouth shut. Sara had came through for them in the end, whilst she'd just gotten Yao Fei killed.

"So that's Diggle who now know our secret...and Tommy is certain that _something_ is going on even if he doesn't know what." Thea muttered to herself. "Anyone else looking to join the Vigilante Club?"

"You're not calling it that," Oliver muttered lightly from where he was taking off the Hood.

Thea rolled her eyes, "You can't stop me." When her brother didn't reply she chuckled, "Y'know." Thea called back as she made her way towards the makeshift area she'd designated for changing out of her vigilante uniform, "Maybe you should have mentioned the fact that you were technically in the military."

With that she left her brother to his thoughts as she made her way towards the more screened off area of the Foundry, it had been a long night and she wanted to get back to the Mansion. Try to forget about what just happened. Although she knew there was going to be fallout about the fact that she and her brother disappeared in the midst of a shooting.

Their family was going to be worried.

As she looked at her bow and the crumpled up pile of clothes she needed to change into she wondered if she really deserved it, maybe Deadshot and Diggle were right about her.

Maybe they were just murderers.

 **.**

Thea got off of her brother's bike, following behind Oliver as they made their way into the Mansion's foyer. She let out a small sigh of relief at the lack of a police presence, that meant that their family hadn't sent a search party and Diggle hadn't called the cops on them.

Not yet at least.

Hurrying behind Oliver as he made a beeline towards the stairs she groaned and froze at the sound of footsteps, high heels clicking against the wooden floor. She turned around expecting to see her Mother and stiffened at the sight of Laurel instead, she watched as her brother tensed and braced himself for the verbal onslaught.

Laurel wasn't exactly his biggest fan at the moment.

"Where were you?" She called out as she looked at them both with a worried and almost disappointed expression, the concern in her eyes making Thea's guilt increase tenfold.

Oliver sighed, "What are you doing here?" He questioned as he tried to avoid and deflect her question.

"I heard about the shooting and wanted to make sure everyone was alright," She paused before continuing, letting out a small sigh as if she was about to regret her next words. "Wanted to make sure that you were okay...both of you."

"You did?" Oliver failed to keep the surprise out of his tone and Thea hated how surprised he was. She didn't know whether it was his usual surprise that someone cared about him or that it was _Laurel_ admitting she cared about him. She didn't understand why he didn't just try to make it up for her and accept the olive branch.

"Yeah," Laurel murmured softly before her tone hardened and her soft smile gained sharp edges. "And I knocked on the door and found a family terrified for the pair of you..." Oliver winced and started to walk towards her whilst Thea decided to hang back, "They didn't know where you were."

Oliver sighed and slowly made his way down to the bottom of the stairs, stumbling slightly - Thea wondered if he was about to do another impersonation of the old Oliver 'Ollie' Queen. It seemed to be his usual tactic for pushing people away. "No..." He murmured halfheartedly and Laurel quickly cut him off.

"Are you seriously so self centered that you didn't think the people who care about you would be worried?" Laurel frowned as she stared at him, he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "I made peace with your selfishness a long time ago but Moira...Walter...Tommy...they don't deserve that...they deserve better...someone who doesn't care only about himself." With a frustrated sigh she started to walk away, shooting Thea a small glare as she left.

"Laurel!" Her brother called out, making her pause and turn back to face him, "Thank you for coming." He said softly, shooting her a grateful smile.

She shook her head, "I care about people...maybe you should try it sometime." Without another word she stormed off and out of the Mansion, leaving her exhausted brother behind. She watched as his body slumped and he let out a ragged breath, they were both exhausted and she knew that that exchange with Laurel would have taken it's toll on him.

"I'll go after her." Thea murmured as she hurried out towards where Laurel would be, leaving her brother behind in her wake.

Oliver barely made a noise in acknowledgement as his mind reeled with Laurel's words, he'd tried to keep up the front of the selfish arrogant playboy that everybody remembered but that didn't mean it didn't hurt when people accused him of being selfish. He knew that he deserved it, they must have been scared out of their minds and it wasn't like he could explain that he was saving his bodyguard after he was hit by a stray bullet whilst chasing his charges as they went after an assassin all on their own.

"Oh man.." He let out a sigh, maybe he was selfish; for doing the crusade and for bringing Thea into it. Not that she'd given him much of a choice. But Diggle and Laurel's words rang in his head and in the parts of him that carried nearly a decade of guilt with them their words resonated.

He didn't deserve the people he had in his life, not after the monster he'd become and not after who he was before the island.

He thought back to the trunk in the Foundry and the ghosts it contained, the reminders of the people that he'd failed; his Father's list, Yao Fei's bow and hood, Shado's hand carved comb and arrows, Slade's whisky and failed attempt at an arrowhead from Sara.

All people he'd let down, people he'd either let die or people who hated him because of who he'd let die.

He leaned against the stairway, eyes closed as he tried to shut off his thoughts when the sound of the door opening jerked him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Thea walking back in, a sympathetic grimace on her face, "Well...that was harsh...you alright?" She reached out and rubbed his arm, trying to comfort him.

"Yeah," He shrugged, "Just it's the second time that a friend has taken me out to the woodshed and it's taking it's toll..you know?"

Thea smiled softly at him, trying to be reassuring, "Dig'll come round and Laurel was just upset..worried..she probably didn't mean what she said...we both know your not selfish and you wouldn't be doing what you've been doing if you didn't care about the lives of others."

Outwardly he smiled and nodded, showing his agreement with her but inwardly he wasn't so sure that what Laurel was saying wasn't the truth.

"Goodnight, Speedy." He offered finally, clapping her on the shoulder as he passed her and headed towards his room, he doubted he would get any actual rest but he needed to at least try. He was exhausted and needed to try to process what had happened.

He hoped he was right about Diggle, he was a good man and could be a good partner to have out on the field, he didn't want to see his sister in jail because he'd made the wrong call.

If that happened he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

 **.**

Later that night, Thea made her way downstairs. She was unable to sleep as her mind kept focusing on Diggle - she was too tense, the anxiety going through her body like a live wire. Every noise echoing made her tense and flinch, each bang sending her mind into overdrive as she imagined Lance and his friends coming for them.

It had been Oliver's plan to get arrested but this was out of their control and she was sure he was keeping something from her, he'd changed his mind about Diggle way too fast for her to feel comfortable with it.

She liked Diggle, she wanted the man to join them but that didn't mean she wasn't paranoid about it.

A noise caught her attention, it was a rustling sound and she hurried downstairs towards the source of the noise. She found Tommy sat in his PJ's, cross legged on the couch in the living room as he watched the TV. "Hey!" She called out weakly.

"Speedy!" Tommy called out, "Can't sleep either?"

Thea shook her head, "Nope." She sat down on the couch next to him, stealing some of Tommy's popcorn. "What you watching?"

"Peter Declan," Tommy replied, swatting at her thieving hand without tearing his eyes away from the TV, "Psycho killed his wife in their daughter's nursery..happened whilst you were away...the guy is a total nutjob."

Thea frowned and turned her attention to the TV, "And this warrants popcorn because?"

"I _had_ been watching a movie...besides this is more interesting," Tommy replied with a shrug, "He killed his wife...killed his daughter's mother...the guy deserves everything he's about to get." Thea was surprised by the venom in Tommy's voice, she wondered if it was linked to his Mom's death.

Child looses one parent, mother murdered, left with a psycho parent.

Maybe it was hitting a little too close to home for him.

She watched as the man on the television pleaded his innocence, "Camilla was everything to me! I couldn't kill her anymore than I could kill myself!" Declan cried out in a clip dated from 2008.

"So why can't you sleep?" Thea questioned with a small frown as she turned away from the TV, "I remember the old Tommy Merlyn could sleep in till noon."

"That was because he used to stay out all night getting drunk," Tommy retorted, "Besides...I don't think either of us are like the old versions of ourselves...you don't have pigtails or wear frilly dresses anymore...we've both changed." He turned towards her, "Why can't you sleep?"

"Paranoia...bad dreams." Thea huffed, "Take your pick."

"About the island?" Tommy questioned gently at her nod he seemed to debate with himself before continuing. "So where were you?" As Tommy tossed a piece of popcorn into his mouth, tone becoming serious, "We were waiting for you after the shooting...your Mom was freaking out and we couldn't reach the pair of you or Diggle...why didn't either of you call us and where were you?"

Thea looked at the concern and frustration on Tommy's face and hated herself for it, "We just got caught up with all of the security," She paused and hated the next excuse she was going to use, "High stress environment involving potentially being killed...kind of brought back some old memories and instincts."

"From the island?" Tommy checked.

Thea sighed, "Yeah...I guess everything is because of the island." Letting out a harsh breath she shook her head, "Guess the good doctor isn't working her magic after all."

Thea paused before nodding, "Guess the good doctor isn't working her magic after all."

"Maybe she would if you actually talked to her," Tommy commented and at her confused look, "Laurel told me...I was worried about you and she mentioned she'd been talking to you." He paused before continuing, "We're all here for you Speedy, it doesn't matter if you're not the same little kid we remember...we've all changed but we're all still your family if you need us but maybe you should give the good doctor an actual chance."

"Fine," Thea conceded after a moment of thought, "I'll try." As he nodded in satisfaction she chose that moment to grab some more popcorn effectively breaking the moment as she turned her attention back to the television

 **.**

The next morning Oliver Queen made his way down the stairs of the mansion, past the ornate decorations, into the sitting room. He grinned at Thea and Tommy and smiled over at his Mother as she entered the room just behind him, he assumed Walter was at the company, she returned his smile before shaking her head and sighing at the television.

"Thank god we do not have to hear about this man anymore," His Mother said, "The sooner he's dealt with the better."

Oliver looked at the screen with a frown as he grabbed the remote and unmuted the television, listening as the news woman read out her script, "Declan's execution is set for two days from now." The reported said, "Camille Declan's former employer, Jason Brodeur has released a statement saying that he hopes that this will give Camille the peace that she deserves."

At the name his eyes went wide and spun around on his heel to face his sister, seeing her mouth the man's name at the same time as her. They both knew that Jason Brodeur was on the list and if he was involved in the Declan case then it probably wasn't as open and shut as the courts had thought.

"Declan's wife worked for Jason Brodeur?" Oliver questioned and turned to his Mother and Tommy with a frown.

Tommy shrugged, "Yeah...why? You know the guy or something?"

"Nope," Oliver shook his head and brushed off the question, "Just curious..I missed all of this remember."

His Mother sighed, "Well thankfully it will all be over soon...though I pity his daughter...loosing both of her parents-" She trailed off and Thea involuntarily glanced towards Tommy.

The sound of footsteps in the hall caused them both to stiffen, Oliver instinctively moving in front of his Mother whilst Thea moved to cover Tommy. Their Mother's voice caught their attention as they looked at her with a small frown, bodies still tense, "Oliver...Thea...there's someone I'd like the pair of you to meet."

"Someone?" Oliver questioned.

Their Mother nodded, "Mr Diggle's replacement?"

"Dig quit?" Thea questioned urgently, panicking slightly, "Why? When?"

"It seemed that Mr Diggle found himself unable to continue with this job," She shot Oliver a disapproving and slightly accusing look, "I assume he got tired of his client running away from him and refusing to cooperate with him."

Thea shot Oliver a worried look, if Diggle had quit it didn't bode well for the pair of them. If he was distancing himself from them he either wanted nothing more to do with them which meant he wouldn't be joining their crusade anytime soon or it meant he was about to send the cops after them and wanted to keep himself out of the firing line.

"You may come in now," Moira called out as she eyed up her children's reactions, "Oliver...Thea..this is Rob Scott."

The man walked in and extended a hand towards them, "Miss Queen...Mr Queen...I'm Rob Scott and I'll be your new body-man." Thea snickered at the introduction and shared an amused look with her brother, this man didn't seem like he'd be much of a challenge to deal with.

Politely Thea shook his hand and watched as he shook her brothers hand, "That's a firm grip you've got there, Rob." She noticed that the man was wincing slightly, she wondered if her brother was being a bit _too_ firm with his own grip.

"That's five years with SWAT with Monument Point in MCU." Rob replied with a slightly boastful expression, Thea chuckled he really was nothing like Diggle.

Oliver leaned in towards her and muttered dryly, "I feel safer already."

"So what do we call you?" Thea said as she tried to suppress her laughter, "Mr Scott? Rob? Mr Rob?"

"Rob's fine," Their bodyguard replied with a smile, "So's Scott if you want Miss Queen."

"So...Rob," Oliver began and Thea looked at him with suspicion, his eyes were bright and it reminded her of the time he'd tried to prank Slade. He'd earned himself a particularly rigorous sparring session for that and she was fairly certain he still had a scar or two from that experience. "Myself and my sister would like to go into town...as she has a therapy session she needs to go to and I'd like to go visit a friend...could you get the car for us?"

Their Mother shot them a suspicious look but Oliver just gave her a reassuring smile, "We need him to get the car for us to leave Mom."

Rob hesitated, "No offence Mr Queen but I've been informed about yours and your sisters tendency to slip the leash and run away from your bodyguards...I'll be sticking very close to the pair of you for the time being." He replied calmly, "I'd prefer to keep the pair of you in my sights at all times."

Thea turned her laughter into a coughing fit as Tommy stared at her in confusion, she didn't mean to laugh but he just seemed so gullible and he seemed nothing like what she'd expected a replacement for Diggle to be. "If you don't get the car how are we meant to get to the city? We're twenty miles out."

Rob blushed slightly, cheeks turning red with embarrassment, he ducked his head and sheepishly made his way towards the door and headed out towards the garage.

Smirking Thea looked at Oliver, "Ducati?" she mouthed and he nodded.

"Excuse us," Oliver excused himself quietly from their Mother and waved goodbye to Tommy, "We'd better go."

"I like him!" Thea yelled over her shoulder as she followed Oliver away and out of the room.

Ten minutes later she and Oliver raced past a bewildered and confused looking Rob, she waved at him and was surprised when the man waved back. "He's cute." She commented to Oliver as they drove out of the gates of the mansion, he chuckled slightly as Rob's voice could be heard calling out behind them.

"I wonder how long it is before he quits?" She murmured, she was going to give him a week.

Oliver chuckled, "I'll give him three days."

It seemed that Oliver had even less faith in Rob's abilities than her.

 **.**

Oliver and Thea stood in the Foundry; Thea was researching Peter Declan and Jason Brodeur whilst Oliver forged them some more arrows. "I don't know...this looks like a pretty open and shut case," Thea spun around on the chair and shrugged, "If it wasn't for their boss being who it was then I'd say that he did it..hell..maybe he did and we're just blind-sighted by the fact their boss was on the list."

"He had no alibi and all of the evidence says he did it." Thea lamented, "It seems legitimate barring Jason Brodeur having a spot on the list."

"We need help." Oliver concluded and reluctantly Thea nodded.

"Guess it's a good thing we both know a hotshot lawyer with a thing for the underdog."

Oliver's face twisted "You want Laurel involved?"

"She's the only lawyer in the city I'd trust with this...we know her." Thea could admit that she didn't know Laurel as well as Oliver but she only had good memories of Laurel and she'd been nothing but a friend since she'd gotten back, whilst her relationship with Oliver was more messy it made sense that it was.

She wasn't the one who slept with Laurel's sister.

"We can't let him die if he's innocent." Thea added, it would be a twisted logic that she and her brother killed and lived in what appeared to be the lap of luxury whilst an innocent man was killed and his daughter was left an orphan.

"He faces execution in forty-eight hours...we don't have long to prove his innocence and clear his name." Oliver placed the arrows he'd been working on in a vat of water to cool, "I'll approach Laurel later tonight..in the meantime you have a therapists appointment that you need to get to."

"Still unfair that you don't have to go to it...surely you have way more issues than me." Thea lamented.

Oliver smirked at her, "No idea what you're talking about Speedy...I'm perfectly sane."

The pair of them barely suppressed a snort at that.

 **.**

Thea waited until Oliver's bike came to a slow outside of the Therapist's office, unloading herself from the bike she shot her brother a grateful smile. "Don't worry about picking me up...I want to go check in on a friend after this." At his warning look she raised her hands in mock surrender and lowered her voice so that it couldn't be heard by passers by, "I'm not going to stick an arrow in him...I just want to talk."

He watched her for a second before nodding and placing his helmet back on, "Alright...be careful and I'll see you tonight?" She nodded, she wasn't planning on letting him visit Laurel alone.

Letting out a weary sigh she headed into the Doctor's office, groaning at the sight of the familiar waiting room with it's pristine white walls and annoyingly polished feel. For a building located in the Glades, much to her Mother's annoyance, it looked good.

Probably because of Starling General pumping all of the rich youth into it, she was fairly certain many of the cities more elite families would be more than willing to donate a cheque or two in return for discretion.

She took a seat in the waiting room, thankful for the fact that it appeared to be empty, she didn't feel like making small talk or answering questions. It was going to be hard enough to answer the Doctor's questions never-mind some nosy stranger looking to make a buck.

It felt like forever before Doctor Pressnall's head poked out from behind the office door and she called out Thea's name, she got up and headed towards the office. Silently readying herself for the therapy session from hell. She was going to keep her promise to Laurel and Tommy, and so she was going to have to trust that they were right and that this would actually help her.

She took a seat opposite the Doctor, watching as the woman looked at her expectantly - pen hovering over the notepad in front of her.

Thea let out a harsh breath, running a hand through her hair as she tried to gather her thoughts - she knew what the Doctor wanted her to do and she knew what Laurel and Tommy thought she should do. But actually doing it felt wrong, seemed wrong, telling someone the truth about the island? Albeit an edited one as she was sure that ARGUS would rain down hell on herself and her brother if she mentioned their year long operation and Slade would skewer her with his swords if she brought up his name to a Psychiatrist.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you," Thea said finally, "Those five years weren't good and so much stuff happened in those years that I wouldn't know where to begin...I can't sleep...food tastes and feels wrong because it has too much taste and stuff added to it and every-time I'm in public I'm hyper aware because I'm waiting for someone to jump out and try to kill me." She stared at Pressnall, gauging the Doctor's reaction to her words, "I know how messed up I am...I don't need you to tell me that."

"That isn't my job," Pressnall replied calmly, "I'm here to help you cope with the trauma you suffered not diagnose you or cause any harm to you...I am not your enemy Thea."

Thea didn't know what to believe, she had Laurel's voice telling her that the woman did just want to help her and that the Doctor could whilst Slade and her own voice was telling her not to trust the woman. Not to say anything.

"Thea," Pressnall called out, "I understand this is difficult but this is your third session with me and we still haven't addressed anything or made any progress...why don't you explain why you don't want to talk to me?"

That seemed fair, she could do that.

"On the island...people looked out for me and my brother...taught us things and one of the things we learnt was about torture and interrogation." She focused on a stain on Pressnall's desk keeping herself focused on it as she talked, "So it's ingrained in me not to share things with strangers or hostiles...which no offence you are." Shrugging she continued, "I don't see how reliving trauma will help me...you wouldn't want to hear about what we went through and I don't want to talk about it."

Pressnall seemed to consider what she said, "If you keep memories like that shut away and you never process them it will harm you in the long run...I've seen patients go through the worst kinds of trauma and talking about it did help them."

"But I'm not them."

The Doctor nodded as she said that, "No you're not and your case is vastly different to most of my usual clients but that doesn't mean I can't help you." She paused, "I've read your medical report...I know about the scars and the tattoos and the broken bones...you can deal with something like that by shutting it away and trying to forget about it." Pressnall's voice was soothing, irritatingly so, as if she was trying to lure Thea into a false sense of security.

But Laurel and Tommy's words rang in her head, Tommy had had to go to counselling after his Mom's death and Thea would be surprised if Laurel hadn't after her sister and Oliver's deaths. They had promised her it would help.

She just hoped they were right.

"On the island." Thea began and a part of her blanched, it seemed that she was jumping right in at the deep end. Maybe it was because of the guilt of not telling her Mother, the fact she hated keeping secrets or just that it was the only thing she could mention that didn't link to their vigilante activities."I trusted the wrong people and because of it people died and now I'm back I'm scared of getting close to anyone I'm close to as the last time I did that...barring my brother...they died."

Doctor Pressnall leaned forwards at that, the only indication of the shock and surprise she must have been feeling at the fact that Thea was actually talking was the minute twitch of her eyebrow and the way her pen slipped against the paper. The Doctor gestured for her to continue.

"So how do I trust you when every other person I've trusted has hurt the people I care about." Thea explained, "That's the real reason I don't want to tell you anything." And her chest felt lighter, both in the literal and metaphorical sense.

Doctor Pressnall had been busy scribbling down notes as she spoke and she wondered what amazing insights the Doctor had came up with beyond the glaringly obvious fact that she had 'trust issues.' And before the Doctor could speak Thea gestured towards the clock, frustrated with herself for taking the cowards way out, "And I believe that means our time is up...see you later Doc!"

So it wasn't the monumental leap that Laurel and Tommy had been hoping for but progress was progress and she was going to give herself a pat on the back for that.

It was the thought that counted.

Shooting the Doctor a small wave she headed out of the office, pulling out her phone to find John Diggle's address.

It was time for her to pay the man a visit.

 **.**

After a bit of internet sleuthing, for once it was of the legal kind, she found the address of John Diggle. He lived in an apartment building on the edge of the Glades, not quite out of it but not far enough in that he was living in a dump. Barring the graffiti on the side of the building and what looked like the rotted corpse of a pigeon the building looked quite nice.

Floor six, apartment 5b.

She groaned as she came up to a buzzer, guess she was going to have to get Diggle to agree to talk to her. That was going to be interesting. The name-tags were all faded and smudged, she took a deep breath and forced herself to press the button that had the smudged scrawl _'J. Diggle'_ next to it.

"Who is it?" The familiar voice called out, distorted through the speaker but noticeably warmer and less angry and venom filled than when she had last heard it.

Thea cleared her throat nervously, "Thea...Thea Queen."

There's an audible pause and a harsh intake of breath, Thea tries again "We need to talk.." Her voice takes on a pleading tone, "...please."

She was sure that Diggle was going to hang up or call the cops then and there, instead there's just silence accompanied by the harsh crackle of the apartment. Then, to her surprise, the door buzzed and the lock clicked. It took her a moment to get past the shock of her actually being allowed in before she reached out and pushed open the iron gate.

Maybe there was a chance when it came to Diggle after all.

To her relief the receptionist didn't seem to care about her presence, barely even looking up at her. She hurried past him with her head down, making a beeline towards the elevator. She pushed the button for the sixth floor and mentally prepare herself for her talk with Diggle.

A low beep signaled that the elevator had reached the correct floor and the door opened with a moan, she hurried out of the elevator and walked towards Diggle's apartment.

She's surprised that he even agreed to talk to her and if she was greeted by the barrel of a gun upon entering his apartment she wouldn't be surprised.

Annoyed but not surprised.

She rapped on the door with her knuckles, three short and sharp knocks, the paint on the walls was peeling but Diggle's door seemed close to immaculate. She guessed that was because of how much he got paid to look after Starling City's elite tearaways.

When he raised her hand to knock again the sound of a chain lock sliding out of place caused her to pause, followed by the sound of a deadbolt. The door is pulled so that it's barely open, Diggle able to see her but not wide enough for her to actually enter the apartment. Thea stood in front of him, body rigid and tense at the glare that John was shooting her way.

"Yes?" He questioned, looking at her with suspicion.

Thea rocked on her heels for a second before replying, "We need to talk...please...I just want a chance to explain everything and if you still hate me then you can call the cops on me with me there."

He watched her for a second, eyes narrowing as he crossed his arms over his chest. His gaze flickered over to the hallway, as if expecting an ambush before he moved to the side and opened the door. Diggle motioned for her to come in, with a grimace and a wave that seemed sarcastic as he did so.

It was as close to an invitation as she was going to get.

Shooting him a silent nod of thanks she walked inside and looked at the interior of Diggle's apartment, it was clean - probably because of the fact he was former military. Everything seemed to have a place.

But it was warmer than she'd expected; soft colours and even a candle or two on the coffee table with toys scattered around the floor and a crushed crayon next to a door - she assumed it all belonged to his nephew.

The nephew that was, as much as she hated to admit it or even think it, a potential pressure point if Diggle really did choose to go against them.

"So...are you going to talk or-" Diggle trailed off expectantly.

Thea spun around to face him, "Oliver's certain that you'll come around...that we can trust you which is strange considering most of your anger seemed to be directed towards him." She shrugged, "You're wrong about him..he isn't some wannabe Robin Hood...we have a reason for doing this and we're trying to save the city."

She could have brought up his brother but she felt like that was her brother's hail Mary for his talk with Diggle.

Which was a lot better than his usual Hail Mary of sleeping with the enemy.

"By killing people?"

She raised an eyebrow at that, "Says the soldier? We might have been through different wars but believe me what me and my brother went through was a war...not against a country or based on one country wanting something that the other had it was a war and a fight for survival against an endless supply of people who wanted us dead." Running a hand through her hair with frustration, she tried to find a way to explain five years of hell in a way that didn't make her sound crazy. "We kill..yeah..but we have to because the people we go up against wouldn't hesitate to kill us when we fight them...plus it was only a couple of months ago we were on a _literal_ desert island trying to survive...kind of hard to get rid of the survival mindset."

He nodded at that and she barely contained her surprise, "Okay."

"Okay?" She questioned incredulously.

Diggle rolled his eyes and nodded again, "I get it...I still don't agree with it though."

"I'm not asking you to," Thea amended quickly, "Just _please_ give my brother a chance when he tries to explain all of this to you...who knows maybe we'll win you over yet."

John Diggle surveys her with an unreadable expression before raising an eyebrow at her silently, she accepted his silence as agreement. Not wanting to push her luck she shot him a mock salute and made her way out of his apartment, she pulled out her phone and texted her brother the apartment building's address.

She wanted to believe that this was going to end well and that it was going to end without her having to put an arrow in John or anyone close to him.

But ultimately she wasn't going to be able to find out without her brother.

And, right now, they had bigger things to focus on.

Like Peter Declan.

* * *

 **. . .**

 **A/N -** Dig now knows! I had written a scene where Tommy found out instead but then I felt as if Diggle had been shoved in a corner as Tommy finding out is easier to write for basically any episode as opposed to Digg who's introduction to the Hood seemed to work best in the episode that involved his brother's shooter. I wrote this and then re-watched the episode, I made Diggle way angrier when he first found out compared to the show...Oh well I'll blame his parental instincts and the fact Thea is _technically_ a kid.

 _I think I responded to everyone's reviews._

Hope you all enjoyed! Thank you _so_ much for all the follows/favorites and reviews!

And now I have written everyone who will be finding out's, finding out scene, and there's quite a few. Also a part of me regrets having Oliver with her as because of that not much has changed - eh, it will later on but it makes the earlier episodes harder.

 _I just wrote four new fics to help me with writers block relating to this episode. That should be fun._

Also anyone interested in a fic where "Oliver Queen," never returned to Starling to prevent the Undertaking? Follows Assassin Oliver & Sara, Tommy, Thea, Laurel, Moira and Quentin dealing with the aftermath of the Undertaking. Maybe Felicity and Diggle. Also spent two hours writing an Arrow/Supergirl/The Flash - Detroit; become Human AU because who needs to focus on what they're actually supposed to be writing.

 **Guest Review Responses -**

*I agree, I've decided what to do with that episode and it hopefully feels natural/okay as I've had to stray quite a bit for that as I don't want to just shove any character into a hole.

*You're right! They really do suck, I have taken nineteen exams and I am exhausted. (Ignoring the exams for practical subjects I've already taken) Thank you for the good luck wishes and I'm glad that you're enjoying this fic.


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